Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F. Austin students from the Nelson Rusche College of Business recently toured Europe after completing a course in International Business Law: Europe and the World Court.

The course was designed to expose students to the legal environment of global business with emphasis on international law and dispute resolution, according to Dr. J. Keaton Grubbs, associate professor in the Department of Gene al Business and trip leader.

Students toured the World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva; the International Court of Arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce and the United States Embassy in Paris. They toured the European Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels; and the Peace Palace, the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Academy for International Law in The Hague, Netherlands.

“By exposing students to a broader, bigger picture, they gain a greater understanding of international business and an appreciation for international business law,” Grubbs said. “Statistically, a lot of SFA business students go to work for large companies after they graduate. They’re involved in internationa business, sometimes on a small scale and sometimes on a grand scale. Either way, they need to be exposed to it. That was our goal in developing this course.”

The second goal of the course was to cultivate personal growth, Grubbs said.

“When students see and experience other cultures, they develop new and different ways of looking at things and doing things,” he said.

Marcus Cox, lecturer in the Department of General Business, said the course took more than a year to develop. Cox said the goal is to take a trip abroad every year.

“It takes a tremendous amount of lanning to develop a course like this,” he said. Grubbs added that the goal of business faculty is to make international travel a part of the College of Business experience.

“Marcus and I are a good team,” he said. “We have mutual respect for one another, and we have a shared vision.”

Cox said the course curriculum, lectures, class work and exams lead up to the travel experience.

“After students have completed their studies, they get to see the institutions first-hand and visit with the professionals who work there,” he said. “Suddenly, their class lessons come to life.”

Students received personalized, private tours and lectures at each institution they visited. In addition, students toured Chillon Castle on the shore of Lake Geneva, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne and visited the Swiss Alps with a tour to Zermatt. Unfortunately, a May snowstorm obscured the view of the Matterhorn. They visited a diamond factory in Amsterdam and a winery in Montrieux, Switzerland. They enjoyed other sightseeing opportunities at each destination.

Grubbs said students will never read or hear about these places again without thinking back to their experiences there.

“They may not fully grasp the magnitude of what they’ve done,” he said. “But in their professional careers, it wi l really sink in about how much they’ve learned and benefited from the experience.”

Violet Rogers, dean of the College of Business, said it’s important for students to venture outside of the United States to gain a better understanding of the global nature of the business world.

“All business is international, now,” Rogers said.

Rogers accompanied the students on this trip and said she loves seeing the world through their eyes.

“Things I might have taken for granted made a bigger impression upon me, because I saw it from their perspective,” she said.

Cox said the international business law course attracts strong students who are there because they want to learn and absorb as much as they can.

Cox said the travel opportunities for SFA business students rival those of any university in the nation.

“One of the most satisfying aspects for me, as a teacher, is seeing the students grow in self-confidence during the trip,” he said. “Once they get their feet under them, you can hand them a map and a metro pass, and they can conquer a city like Paris. They also learn from interacting with professionals at venues such as the World Trade Organization that they can expand their job search after graduation to places outside the United States.”

Brittany Glazner, a finance major from Grapeland, said she was terrified of the trip because it required traveling overseas — something she had never done.

“I was also afraid of a big city like Paris,” she said. “I’m from a small town, and I’ve rarely been to a place that big. But after this trip, I feel like I could travel anywhere and do well.”

Grubbs said he and Cox authored a paper about the development and implementation of this course, which Grubbs presented at the annual conference of the Southern Academy of Legal Studies in Business in March 2007, in San Antonio.

To read a travel log created by the students and sponsors, and to view photos from the trip contributed by Cox, visit www.dailysentinel.com, and click “Euro Blog.”