Maine Maritime Academy Restructures Loeb-Sullivan School

Dr. John Barlow, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean at Maine Maritime Academy (MMA), has announced that the college's Loeb-Sullivan School of International Business and Logistics has been restructured. The Loeb-Sullivan School offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in business. According to Barlow, the restructuring is intended primarily for administrative efficiency so as to position the graduate division of the business school as a global leader in its area of expertise. Accordingly, M.S. degree options of the school have been expanded and the curriculum and graduation requirements have been revisited to meet changing industry needs. In conjunction with the change, Barlow announced the appointment of Dr. Shashi Kumar, a long-time faculty member of the school, to the post of associate dean to oversee the new expansion efforts and future development of the business school. According to Kumar, the graduate school academic requirements have shifted from a 45-credit program to that of 33 credits for successful completion of the master of science degree. This change allows the Loeb-Sullivan program to compete more effectively with other graduate programs in transportation and supply chain management. Students are required, however, to enter the program with a total of 12 credits in introductory management, microeconomics, business statistics, and business law. This change allows prospective students to obtain the prerequisite courses from any accredited college or university, thereby encouraging continued employment, minimizing disruption of professional careers, and providing an avenue for maximizing corporate tuition reimbursement benefits. The Loeb-Sullivan School's new menu of graduate offerings includes Global Supply Chain Management, Defense Logistics, International Business, and Maritime Management. "These new programming options are market driven and are intended to meet the needs of contemporary global business," said Kumar. "Maine Maritime Academy has always been a specialty college and has remained flexible and responsive to changing technologies and requirements of global business. We've listened to our corporate clients and students in light of the dramatic effects of Sept. 11 on global supply chain management in particular, and offer these new programs in an effort to provide highly-skilled, international business managers."