Ahead of the University’s transition to Division III Athletics in the fall, SFU Associate Dean of the Shields School of Business John Miko – along with faculty members at several schools in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference – are hoping to create academic opportunities for business students through a project called “BIZ-PAC.”
Miko said that BIZ-PAC stands for the “Business Presidents’ Academic Consortium.” In addition to Saint Francis, eight other PAC schools have expressed interest in participating in this collaborative venture. This group includes Allegheny, Chatham, Grove City, Saint Vincent, Thiel, Washington and Jefferson, Waynesburg and Westminster.
SFU athletics teams will begin competition the DIII Presidents’ Athletic Conference in the fall.
Miko initiated and hosted an information session with faculty members from the other PAC schools to discuss the idea on Jan. 14.
“The conversation confirmed that these institutions are very similar in mission, scale and student focus,” he said, “and that there is real value in working together in a more intentional way.”
Students will have the opportunity to both compete against, and work with, business students from other PAC institutions.
“Our first fully shared initiative will be a BIZ-PAC logo and tagline design competition,” said Miko, “which will allow students across institutions to contribute to the identity of the consortium.”
Miko said he came up with this idea after participating in the Big Ten Academic Consortium of business department chairs.
“While that group operated on a larger scale, there was tremendous value in the information sharing, collaboration and idea exchange that took place,” he said.
An in-person meeting for school leaders interested in participating in BIZ-PAC will be held in May on Chatham’s campus. Miko said that some specifics will be discussed at this meeting and student competitions will be planned.
“During the initial session, we identified several competitions and experiential opportunities that already exist at member schools that could be opened to the BIZ-PAC community,” said Miko.
“One example is the Big Idea Competition hosted by Allegheny College, which offers approximately $40,000 in prizes.”
Miko is hopeful that the partnership will grow into a platform for faculty to share teaching ideas, best practices and scholarly work.
“The long-term goal is a sustainable academic partnership that benefits both students and faculty, while strengthening business education across the conference.”
