A seismic shift is underway at Rockhurst University, as in December 2023, the university not only decided to rename its business school, but embarked on a journey to revolutionize its curriculum. In a strategic move designed to align with the demands of the rapidly evolving professional landscape, the university charts a new course, placing an unwavering focus on business, technology and communication—an education poised to shape the leaders of tomorrow.

The most evident change lies in the renaming of the former Rockhurst College of Business, Influence and Information Analysis to the now rebranded Rockhurst College of Business and Technology. This renaming reflects the refocus of the school to enhance students’ acumen and the ever-changing technological knowledge of society.

“We started talking about this over a year ago. We built the idea, and we had conversations with people and continued to listen to what they said to make the program better and better. It will be about three to five years to fully implement these changes, but it will be well worth the time,” said Myles Gartland, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business and Technology

In contrast to many other colleges, Rockhurst has an innovative way of dividing majors into their respective schools. The College of Business and Technology includes not only business majors, but also communication, mathematics, computer science, political science and public policy. With the inclusion of these majors into one respective school, Rockhurst aims to facilitate discussion and collaboration between various degree-seeking students.

“In almost every other college in the country, business is in its own school, communication is in another school and the technology people are in a third school, and they do not interact with each other,” Gartland said.

Also reflective of this change are adjustments to focuses within established majors at Rockhurst, such as Business Communications to now Strategic Communications, Mathematics to now Applied Mathematics and Data Analytics to now Business Analytics. In creating this change, Gartland explains that Rockhurst’s majors should become more specialized to fulfill the diverse needs of the modern workplace.

Within this larger inclusion of skills, a competitive advantage is found within the relationships of business, communication and technology. It will help create a well-rounded student with proficiency in all areas to better assist them in their professional careers.

“It’s a great opportunity for Rockhurst to really shine and put our Jesuit values on this and make a very different and much stronger, much more desirable employee if you have all three of these things [communication, business and technology skills],” Gartland said.

The seeds of change have been planted in the heart of the Rockhurst’s College of Business and Technology, although much of the growth will not happen overnight. In the next couple of years, more changes including added courses, majors and curriculum will be implemented at the school.

Many of these changes will mirror what the school already values within the health care and STEM fields, as well as the Kansas City area standards.

“Kansas City is becoming a huge data and tech area in the Midwest. Many companies are relocating and it only makes sense to create degrees for these industries,” Gartland said. “In the coming years the Rockhurst community can anticipate expansions in areas such as cybersecurity, health, artificial intelligence, social media and STEM.”

The bold decision to rename and reshape the business school stands as a testament to Rockhurst’s dedication to preparing students not just for the challenges of today, but for the dynamic changes of tomorrow. With a new curriculum focused on the intersection of business, technology and communication, the university sets forth on a transformative journey that promises to mold resilient and forward-thinking leaders.