Page 17 - November report 2023

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY MEETING REPORT
OCTOBER 20, 2023
Gonzaga University:
Clarence Barnes, Professor of Economics/Dean Emeritus
Ken Anderson, Dean of Business School
Rebecca Bull Schaefer, MBA Program Director and professor
Claudia Rios-Jordan, Graduate Academic Advisor (for all MBA programs) Margie Aalgaard, Graduate Program Assistant (for all MBA programs) Joanne Barber, University Advancement
Wendy Thompson, Director of Tribal Relations Joe Poss, VP University Advancement
Johnson Scholarship Foundation:
Malcolm Macleod, Board Chair
Bobby Krause, CEO
Sherry Salway Black, Board Vice Chair
Sharon Wood, Office Manager/Program Officer Lady Hereford, Program Specialist
After introductions around the room, Joe Poss explained that President Thayne McCulloh sent his regrets from Washington, D.C. where he is with others advocating regarding the importance of higher education. Joe then explained that they had unearthed an original document signed by the founders. Joe spoke about the Spire Society which was created to recognize those who have led in the growth of Gonzaga. Noting that donors are a part of a larger whole, he welcomed the Johnson Scholarship Foundation as a member of the Society and asked each of us to sign the founding document. A video was then shown of art students creating a unique piece of art as an expression of appreciation to members of the Spire Society. They presented us with a piece of the creation from the video.
On behalf of the Foundation, Bobby thanked Gonzaga for this special gift.
Wendy Thompson then spoke to Gonzaga’s foundational mandates to do good for local tribal communities and the Native students attending Gonzaga. Noting that this mandate has not been fully executed in the past, she used a flow chart to demonstrate the University’s current work for tribal children even before they come to Gonzaga, all the way through acceptance at Gonzaga, orientation and specific measures to make Native students feel welcome on campus. (We later visited the Native American House which is a small building set up as a place students can gather to study and socialize.). When asked how many Native students attend Gonzaga Wendy answered somewhere between 50 and 150, primarily undergraduates. The MBA-AIE program is the only one that specifically requires self-identification.
Malcolm expressed that during the initial conversations with Bud Barnes and Father Spitzer, Father Spitzer stressed that this MBA-AIE program was a chance for Gonzaga University to get back to its commitment to Natives.
Dr. Bull Schaefer then spoke to the status of the MBA-AIE program. This current cohort (XIV) has 11 students who now have one more semester before graduation next May. They have had the opportunity to take other MBA electives, including statistical analysis, not directly in the MBA-AIE program and have expressed their appreciation of that. This cohort engaged in a service project with the Ronald McDonald House. The trip to New Zealand was very positive for those who went, but most could not afford it. The program is looking for more local immersion field trips going forward. They have begun recruiting for Cohort XV. They would like to keep the size at 10 or less for fear that bigger might impede the sense of family within the cohort.
The conversation turned to program costs. Bud estimated that an MBA from Gonzaga comes with a sticker price of about $44,000. Gonzaga is covering about half of that for the MBA-AIE students who are charged $700/credit hour for the 33
Page 15 HORIZONS