San Diego State University: $1.28 Million Grant Propels Global Perspective in International Business
San Diego State University has received a $1.28 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to continue the work of its Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER) program. Combined with matching funds from SDSU, this support will equal roughly $638,000 annually for the next four years.
Designated a national center of excellence, SDSU is one of only 16 universities in the U.S. and two in California to earn this award.
SDSU will use the funding to further the CIBER program’s mission to enhance U.S. business competitiveness by graduating students with a global perspective.
Activities supported by the grant include funding for faculty research and opportunities for students to study abroad; outreach and training programs for the business community; programs for language and business faculty from institutions across the U.S.; and interdisciplinary education in the U.S.
“With this funding, SDSU will continue to set a standard for educational excellence in international business among our nation’s universities and graduates,” said U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations, and Global Corporate Social Impact.
“Their emphasis on language and cultural education, as well as workforce development and strengthening U.S. competitiveness, is one of the main reasons why SDSU is such an important national resource,” Jacobs said.
The CIBER program, launched at SDSU in 1989, operates within the Wendy Gillespie Center for Advancing Global Business in the Fowler College of Business.
Its programs serve the entire university through cross-disciplinary collaboration. It also supports SDSU’s undergraduate international business major, a joint program with the College of Arts and Letters, which ranks No. 8 nationally by U.S. News & World Report.
Institutional strengths
“We have outlined a comprehensive blueprint to enhance international business education and leverage the strengths of SDSU’s business, area studies and language programs,” said Martina Musteen, professor, faculty director, and principal investigator on the federal grant.
“With SDSU’s institutional strengths in entrepreneurship, internationalization and diversity, along with regional strengths of binational collaboration and innovation, we are uniquely positioned to strategically address today’s global business challenges in the post-pandemic world.”
CIBER program managing director Mark Ballam said the grant “will help SDSU continue to excel as a leading transnational university.”
“Our center’s initiatives integrate an international component into our highly ranked business programs, and positively impacts other disciplines across our campus,” Ballam said. “A snapshot of these initiatives includes immersive international learning experiences, career readiness training, academic research in international business, and cross-border business consulting projects.”