Fowler Scholars

Building Ethical Business Leaders

The Fowler Scholars is a cohort of 18 students ranging from freshmen through seniors in the Fowler College of Business.   We achieve the program’s goal of developing ethical business leaders through multiple executions during their four years at SDSU.  First, we meet during our weekly Fowler Scholar’s practice discussing key topics such as leadership, ethics and corporate culture led by either the Fowler scholar director or recognized business executives and leaders.   Next, each Fowler Scholar is assigned and actively participates in a year-long “real-world” project working with local businesses analyzing and solving timely challenges and opportunities.  Finally, the program hosts yearly business trips to either local businesses or national/international destinations meeting with senior leaders discussing current and future business challenges.

Key Program Activities

Key topics such as leadership, ethics and business culture are discussed with the director of the Fowler Scholars and/or guest lecturers such as Nick Konat (president/COO Sprouts), Paul Baribault (CEO, SDZWA), Pamela Williamson (VP Salesforce) and Adam Day (CAO Sycuan).  The Fowler Scholars also dissect real-world case studies developing recommendations based on facts and insights.

Each student is paired with a professional (business leader) mentor. The professional mentors are current senior level leaders in their respective fields and remain with the students during the four years at SDSU.

A professional internship is an important element of the Fowler Scholars Program and a requirement to complete the program. Internships provide students the opportunity to apply their classroom experiences in the real-world and gain skills and competencies that will allow them to launch a successful career.

Project management experiences offer students an opportunity each academic year to apply knowledge gained to “real world” problems. Each student is required to participate in four projects ranging from local business challenges to leading the social media and event platforms for the Fowler Scholars program. There are four project teams led by the Fowler Scholars. 2023-24 projects include: Hunter Industries, Aztec Shops, Fowler Scholars social media and Fowler Scholars events.

Each academic year the Fowler Scholars will visit local businesses meeting with senior leaders discussing the current business environment and challenges.  Every two years, business trips to key business hubs in either the US or international focus on different aspects of business from finance to marketing to governmental opportunities and challenges.

 

Contacts




If you are interested in learning more about contributing to or creating an endowment fund in support of the Fowler College of Business, we invite you to contact Sheona Som.

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