Management Institute growing by partnering with local firms
BY JOAN TUPPONCE
When LandAmerica Financial Group decided to create a leadership academy, the company contacted the University of Richmond’s Management Institute, the executive education division of the Robins School of Business.
“We wanted to build an intensive program,” explains Carol Anderson, senior vice president and director of talent and learning resources for LandAmerica. “The University was the perfect setting.”
The two-week, immersion-style program, developed for 20–25 of LandAmerica’s leaders, readies participants for the next step in their careers. It was the first time the company had partnered with an educational institution.
“Working with a university was one of our primary goals,” Anderson says. “The program has been very successful.”
It is yet another example of the Management Institute’s flexibility. It has been serving the greater Richmond community since the 1960s with a variety of programs.
“The Management Institute makes our academic programs and renowned faculty accessible to a broader audience of working professionals,” explains Dean Jorge Haddock of the Robins School of Business.
Over the years, the institute’s role in the business community has expanded as interest in the school’s offerings has increased dramatically. Year-to-date revenues are up 41 percent over last year, reflecting significant growth in both the institute’s customized programs and its open-enrollment courses.
“Today we view our role as an educational partner with a variety of firms, providing customized leadership development programs,” observes Executive Director Richard Coughlan. Coughlan also serves as associate dean for graduate and executive programs at the business school. “This year, we expect to educate about 1,200 professionals from more than 60 organizations,” he says.
The institute is tailoring leadership development programs and educational offerings for several area businesses, including Media General, The Martin Agency, CapTech Ventures, Philip Morris, Dominion, Genworth Financial, Capital One and Bon Secours. One of the largest law firms in Virginia has selected the institute to help its top attorneys build teams and lead organizational change.
“This arm of the school complements our nationally ranked undergraduate and M.B.A. programs,” says Haddock. “It serves the needs of organizations and individuals looking for non-degree, highly focused specialty skills and knowledge.”
Businesses are recognizing the academic excellence of the Robins School. The school ranked 25th on BusinessWeek magazine’s inaugural list of the top undergraduate business programs for 2006 and third in the country in the area of academic quality. The school also earned an A+ in teaching quality. The Robins M.B.A. program was recently listed in The Princeton Review’s 2007 edition of The Best 282 Business Schools.
Media General was one of the first businesses to enter into an ongoing leadership development program with the institute. Now in its third year, the program “has been a phenomenal success,” Coughlan says. “Folks from each of the two classes already have been promoted in the organization. One of the great things about these programs is that the highest level of executives is involved in both the development and the delivery.”
One of the tangible benefits of the program is the network that is created among participants. “Employees from across the country are brought together, and there is a bonding that goes on,” Coughlan says. “That’s valuable to the firm and the individuals.”
Kevin McQueen, R’89, principal of consulting firm CapTech Ventures Inc., wanted his associates to have a similar approach to dealing with customers. “I felt that it was important for them to understand what we value and to obtain a certain core set of skills to make sure they were effective consultants. We tried to build courses, but we couldn’t do it at the level we wanted.”
McQueen talked with the Management Institute about developing a customized curriculum. The result: CapTech University. All new hires now complete courses taught by Robins School faculity.
“Our employees have provided fantastic feedback on the classes. I’m seeing a greater consistency,” McQueen says. “They have a better understanding of what it means to be a consultant, of communicating effectively and interacting with peers. We are very pleased with the association.”
The Management Institute also has been providing education, training and consulting to nonprofit organizations such as the Historic Richmond Foundation and the Virginia Police Chiefs Foundation. The William Byrd Community House selected the Robins School to be a service partner in its Capacity Building Initiative.
“We will build a curriculum that will help nonprofit leaders be more effective,” Coughlan explains.
Businesses that rely on the institute view the education of their employees as a way to retain the best talent.
“I think firms in central Virginia have come to understand that they don’t need to travel very far to find outstanding faculty,” Coughlan says. “That is why I think that the University is becoming the provider of choice for these educational offerings.”
The alliances also benefit Richmond students.
“Companies understand the high quality of education at the Robins School,” notes Coughlan, “and those who get to know us through these courses turn around and ask us about recruiting students for full-time jobs and internships. We’re opening doors for our students.”