Some business and civic leaders came away from a forum featuring area educators with the view that universities and colleges need to do better at getting word out about their programs to area companies. Representatives from four universities Pepperdine University, California Lutheran University, California State University Channel Islands and the University of California at Santa Barbara took part in a panel discussion sponsored by the Gold Coast Business Forum, an organization of business and civic leaders along the 101 Corridor. “It reflects the need for outreach,” said Gary Wartik, manager of economic development for the city of Thousand Oaks, of the discussion. “The panel was beneficial if they sensitized those who were here on the resources available in education.” Jonathan Goldhill, a coach to business executives and entrepreneurs, sensed a gap between the business community and the universities, one that can be bridged by making business aware of their curriculum, teachers and overall philosophy. It was also important that the schools know what the future job skills needs of the area will be and gear their programs toward that,” Goldhill said. “If they can stay on top of that that’s the best thing they can do,” Goldhill said. During the panel discussion, Bruce Gillies of the adult degree evening program at California Lutheran University, agreed that communication was essential between business and universities so that educators know what kind of students companies are looking for. “We need to know what you need,” Gillie said. With its main campus in Thousand Oaks and a facility in Woodland Hills, California Lutheran University provides a consulting program in which the students work with companies, and an international MBA programming drawing students from the Pacific Rim and Europe. The MBA program allows the U.S. students a chance to learn about different business practices and the foreign students to experience first-hand the U.S. educational system, Gillies said. “It’s neat when they talk about ethics,” Gillies said. “The differences in their perspectives are immense.” Linda Livingstone, dean of Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, said that the school puts an emphasis on global business and entrepreneurs. The school has a Westlake Village campus offering an MBA program. The Education to Business program partners with 70 companies and gives the students an opportunity to apply classroom learning to real world business issues. The school seeks to embed students into the business community, which makes for a more valuable learning experience, Livingstone said. The school maintains an online database of student and alumni for businesses to draw from for employees, Livingstone said. The youngest of the schools taking part in the forum, California State University Channel Islands prepares its students with the skills of critical thinking, communication and cooperation, said William Cordeiro, director of the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics. While the six-year-old university in Camarillo does not have a business administration degree it does offer a bachelor’s in business, an interdisciplinary program.
