LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Employees with strong cross-cultural backgrounds or second language capability are becoming very valuable resources as companies more than ever look outside the United States for business growth opportunities.

To meet these needs and to prepare students for careers in the 21st century, Rider University's College of Business Administration (CBA) will introduce global business as a new major this fall.

Students majoring in global business will require a second major in a functional business field such as accounting, economics, finance, management, or marketing. Students will also choose between two liberal arts tracks -- one that provides a wide selection of courses to increase cultural awareness or understanding of international topics and the other which allows a minor in French, German, or Spanish.

A required international business experience draws the entire program together. This can be a group study tour to another country, an international business internship, or participation in Rider's Study Abroad Program (in Austria, England, France, Israel, Japan, Spain or Puerto Rico).

"An important feature of this program is the double major," said Dr. Mark Sandberg, CBA dean. "Employers hire new people because of their competence in functional business areas as marketing, finance or accounting. A co-major in global business is a 'value added' major because it better prepares students for employment in an increasingly culturally diverse work place. The international experience component enriches the program considerably."

When the College's international business committee consulted with the CBA Business Advisory Board, members of the Board of Trustees, alumni who have international careers, and other business leaders, it found employers wanted recent graduates with a functional business background as well as the complementing global business experience.

The faculty committee, therefore, designed the program as a dual major, with the two liberal arts tracks, and the international experience.

As Gerald J. Butters, president-North America of Lucent Technologies Inc. Network Systems and a BAB member, said, "It is not just employees traveling or working abroad who need cross cultural awareness. We need that talent in the United States too. Employees here frequently communicate with their counterparts in other countries."

Michael Kennedy '72, a partner with the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand of Philadelphia, said, "A number of us at Coopers & Lybrand do business throughout the world. It's just not through travel, but also through e-mail and teleconference meetings.

"If a business students wants to get ahead, a background in international business is essential. The new global business major puts Rider's College of Business Administration on the cutting edge. Students should seize the opportunity."

According to a consultant's report, the new major meets or exceeds all standards of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). All current undergraduate and graduate programs in the CBA are AACSB International accredited. A co-major in global business further strengthens the existing accredited programs.

Four colleges or universities in New Jersey hold AACSB International accreditation; nationally 23 percent hold the prestigious ranking.

The CBA also offers undergraduate majors in accounting, business policy and environment, computer information systems, economics, finance, management and human resources, management sciences, and marketing, as well as Master of Business Administration and Master of Accountancy programs.

Rider University is an independent, co-educational, non-sectarian institution with a 353-acre campus in Lawrenceville, NJ, and a 23-acre campus in Princeton, NJ.  The University offers 57 undergraduate programs and 15 graduate programs in business, liberal arts, science, education, and music.  Ninety-five percent of Rider's faculty members hold doctorate or other appropriate advanced degrees.  U.S. News and World Report has again ranked Rider in the top tier of northern universities based on the quality of its programs.