From internships to M.B.A.s, Sam Houston State University leads the nation in banking programs

(Reprinted with permission from the November 2005 Texas Banking magazine)

By Donny Palmer
Executive vice president and member relations officer for the Texas Banking Association

Less than five years ago, Texas bankers shared a unique problem: how to educate the new and upcoming generations of employees for the Texas banking industry. The 1980s had a huge economic impact upon banks in Texas, which quickly filtered down to the many internship programs that most regional banks pioneered as a means to have a ready pipeline of management material.

For several years, a void existed in training and internships that left many banks without a good management succession plan for the future. Fast forward to the present and my, how things have changed in this regard for students wishing to enter the world of banking.

LEADING THE NATION

Sam Houston State University in Huntsville has advanced banking educational opportunities to a point where the university leads the nation in banking programs and opportunities for all levels of training. The program starts with a minor in banking, a B.B.A. in banking and financial institutions and, most recently, the inaugural year of an executive M.B.A. in banking and financial institutions.

As you might guess, it took both bankers and educators to have the vision and commitment to start such an ambitious program. This started in the spring of 1969 with the opening of the Business and Economics Building, which was designed to house the expected 3,000 students that would populate the college by 1975. The business school had been a fledgling operation, holding classes in various departments and buildings scattered around the campus.

Cutting the ribbon at the dedication of the Smith·Hutson Building addition are SHSU President James F. Gaertner (left) and Texas State University System Chancellor Charles Matthews.

By 1975, the school had received several different levels of accreditation, but reached a milestone in 1996 when it was accredited by the prestigious American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. This prompted a $1 million gift to create an Endowed Chair of Banking plus another $350,000 annual scholarship donation for the business school.

The donations came from a prominent Sam Houston alumnus who wished to be known only as "Mr. Smith." The donation was in honor of his long-term business associate Robert Hutson, a Houston area banker presently with Texas Capital Bank. At that time, the university changed the name of the building to the Smith-Hutson Business Building.

That same year the Board of Regents voted to use $8.3 million to renovate the building and double the size of classrooms and meeting facilities. The formal dedication for the completed expansion was held in September of this year.

BEXLEY BECOMES THE DRIVING FORCE

James B. Bexley became the chair of the "Smith-Hutson Endowed Chair of Banking" at inception and has done a tremendous job in bringing the banking program to its present level. Bexley is a long-time Texas banker and has been the driving force behind the stated goals of the chair to assist community banks and educate students on banking subjects. To meet this challenge Bexley has focused on several measurable goals:

• Provide a degree in banking.
• Interface and build credibility with bankers.
• Consult and perform research for the industry.
• Provide education opportunities for bankers.
• Develop an internship program to benefit students and banks.

INTERNSHIPS

One of the defining aspects of the banking program is the internships available to students. Since 1998, nearly 500 students have completed six month internships in more than 36 banks and regulatory agencies all over Texas. This course requirement allows bankers the opportunity to see fresh talent while providing the student with hands�on learning experiences. Most students have completed their internship, graduated and joined the bank on a full time basis.

The building dedication ceremony is hosted by Dean R. Dean Lewis, Chancellor Charles Matthews and President James Gaertner.

"SHSU's intern program helped me create a strong banking foundation that has served me well in my career," said Nick Davis, assistant vice president at Woodforest Bank, who graduated with an M.B.A. in May 2005.

Another graduate, Michael Ellzey, a lending officer at the Spring branch of First National Bank, Edinburg, said, "While attending SHSU, the need to elevate myself above other competitors became evident. I had to supersede the average if I wanted to excel not only in my career but in life as well, and the window of opportunity was opened for me through the intern program at SHSU."

Roger Lawrence, president and CEO of Texas Community Bank in the Woodlands has become a huge supporter of the banking program, especially the internships. Over two-thirds of his staff has graduated from SHSU, and he has been instrumental in fund raising as another means of support. The chair boasts one of the finest technological classrooms to be found anywhere and it is appropriately named the Roger D. Lawrence Banking Center.

M.B.A. INAUGURAL CLASS

James B. Bexley lectures in the state-of-the-art Roger D. Lawrence Banking Center located in the Smith-Hutson Business Building at SHSU.

In August of this year, the inaugural class of the executive M.B.A. in banking and financial institutions started with a class of 19 students from all generations and aspects of banking. This two-year program is managed on a cohort basis where students attend classes for two weeks on campus and work on the Web for the remainder of the program.

The curriculum is a standard 36 credit hour program with normal graduation ceremonies with the regular student body. Bankers that have already completed the Graduate School of Banking at SMU receive 6 hours course credit toward the executive M.B.A. degree. Bexley notes that, "Community banking is changing every day and this is one way for community bankers to catch up with those changes."

Many banks are sponsoring employees that want to pursue an M.B.A. so this is a good way to strengthen the management succession in your bank. Between the complete educational offerings from TBA and the degrees from SHSU, Texas bankers are in a unique position to prepare for whatever career goals they might possess.

Details on all these programs are available at www.shsu.edu/~fin_www.

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SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
Nov. 30, 2005
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