SDSU Announces New Center for Advancing Global Business

San Diego State University’s Fowler College of Business is now home to the Center for Advancing Global Business (CAGB), a think tank for issues related to international business.    The newly created CAGB will serve as an umbrella for SDSU’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and the Charles W. Hostler Institute on World Affairs.    “The CAGB represents the continuing and expanding global impact of business education at the Fowler College of Business,” said Lance Nail, Thomas & Evelyn Page Dean at the college. “Current and future graduates must understand the complexities of operating and interacting in a global environment. This center advances our college’s ability to continuously educate global business leaders – as students and as graduates.”   Established in 1989 and now one of 15 federally funded national centers of excellence, SDSU CIBER has played a critical role in providing support for the university’s highly ranked international business program.   As the CAGB expands, it will seek public and private funding to support its activities, particularly in the San Diego business community. An advisory board of business and community leaders will provide resources and guidance and serve as a critical liaison between the CAGB and the business community.   Consistent with the center’s broader mission, CAGB staff will develop new high-impact learning activities for students, foster cross-disciplinary research across the university and disseminate business expertise within the greater San Diego region. It will also strengthen relations with institutions in Mexico and provide greater support to trade initiatives within the Baja region.    “The CAGB will continue SDSU CIBER’s longstanding tradition of serving the business community and San Diego region through seminars, workshops and conferences to help U.S. firms find new markets globally,” said Mark Ballam, CAGB managing director. “These educational opportunities will be expanded to include international firms and stakeholders seeking business connections, partners and investments in the United States.” 

Role of the Hostler Institute

To reinforce the Fowler College’s strategy to internationalize its business curriculum, the Hostler Institute has been positioned within CAGB.    For 77 years, the institute has hosted foreign dignitaries, Nobel laureates, leading international and legal scholars and U.S. diplomats to discuss issues related to geopolitics, national security and international business. This semester, the institute is offering a new upper-division course in global business and diplomacy and is supporting Martina Musteen as the college’s Charles Hostler Professor of Global Business. The institute also provides scholarships to students studying abroad.