BE OUR GUEST: WHY SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATES NEEDS AN ACCREDITED BUSINESS PROGRAM

Michael Devaney is an associate professor of finance and a native of Iron County.

Accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is a stated goal of the business college of Southeast Missouri State University. AACSB accreditation will send a signal to students, faculty, and the region that SEMO is serious about business education. Without it, the long-term viability of the business college is in doubt, given public sentiment for a more narrowly defined mission statement for state universities. Perhaps the most compelling argument for accreditation derives from the role the business college plays in the region's economic development.

The Lower Mississippi Delta has been certified by the U.S. Congress as the poorest region in the United States poorer than Mr. Roosevelt's Tennessee Valley or Mr. Kennedy's Appalachia. The region is comprised of 219 counties in seven states and includes 29 counties in Southeast Missouri. Missouri is fourth in total land area after Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. In the most depressed counties in the region, high school drop out rates exceed 50 percent and 30-to-50 percent of the population live below the poverty line. According to the report of the Commission, infant mortality in Missouri's Pemiscot and New Madrid counties exceeds those of third world countries like Cuba and French Guiana.

Some believe that such gruesome statistics are better left unmentioned and that membership in such a club creates its own stigma. Perhaps because the Delta Commission was spearheaded by Democratic governors in the region or he was preoccupied with his post gubernatorial career in a second-term Bush administration, Governor Ashcroft was less than enthusiastic in his support. Fortunately for Southeast Missouri, partisan politics in Washington has not been a factor. Congressman Emerson is vice chairman of the Congressional Delta Caucus and an active advocate of the region's development. If the presidential polls are correct, the strongest advocate, states' Chairman Bill Clinton, will be in the White House come January.

However, regardless of the outcome of the November election and whether one likes it or not, Southeast Missouri State University occupies the northern fringe of the region. While SEMO may look to the population of metropolitan St. Louis to bolster enrollment, its external service mission lies with the southeastern portion of the state. AACSB accreditation for the business school provides the needed credibility to play a more active role in the development of the region.

One of the most quoted statistics in the commission's report is that in 1985 the 104 institutions of higher learning in the Delta received only 56 percent of the federal research and development funds that went to John Hopkins University. Of the total amount of federal funds going to the region's universities, Missouri Delta colleges received less than 3 percent. As of the date of the report, only Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi were allowed to participate in the National Science Foundation's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCOR). Missouri is the only state without an accredited AACSB business college in the Lower Mississippi Delta region.

Credibility to compete for federal research money is only one reason for accreditation. In other states in the region, AACSB colleges sponsor a Bureau of Business and Economic Research that serves a variety of functions. In addition to providing continuing business education programs for real estate brokers, accountants, appraisers, etc., they act as an information clearinghouse for regional business and government. They run small business incubators, conduct feasibility studies and provide technical support to small businesses. Some business schools help local governments in their service areas locate new tenants for abandoned manufacturing facilities.

It is clear from the report of the commission that it believes the region's colleges and universities can play a more active role in economic development. Of all the colleges and universities responding to the commission's questionnaire, an overwhelming 93 percent believed that inter-institutional cooperation could increase the comprehensive nature of economic development services. Virtually all of these institutions reported a willingness to explore new ways to foster inter-institutional cooperation.

Faculty conducting research in economic development topics at small universities like SEMO have the opportunity to establish relationships at larger research universities that would not normally be available in areas unrelated to the development of the region. This is true not only in business but in science, education, technology and the social sciences.

Regardless of the changing political winds, there is little public support for large-scale federal programs that too often degenerate into political pork barrels. If there is to be economic relief for the Lower Mississippi Delta it will almost certainly come in the form of research grants, tax credits, developmental banking, government sponsored securitized loan programs and other funding designed to promote small business entrepreneurship. An AACSB accredited business college promises to be a good investment not only for the university, faculty and students, but for all of Southeast Missouri.