JACKSON, Tenn. — March 14, 2023 — Union students in the McAfee School of Business managerial communications and organizational behavior class participated in a tri-school collaboration project with Western University’s Ivey Business School and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Union participants partnered with students from each school to assess community issues, brainstorm solutions and present their proposals through virtual communication. The goal of this tri-school collaboration was to help students gain greater experience managing team relationships remotely.
April Rowsey, assistant professor of management, served as the overseeing professor of this collaboration and believed this project helps Union students consider the way they can love their neighbors, co-workers and peers well in today’s ever-growing virtual landscape.
“[When I started this project before COVID-19], the goal was about teaching students how to learn the new technology of a virtual workplace,” Rowsey said. “Now, we're bringing it back to the basics, which is all about how students can think appropriately about the people on the other side of the computer.”
Teaching students professional communication skills across remote platforms helps Union University’s future leaders learn how to engage in today’s world of digitization through the lens of their Christian faith.
“What’s so unique about this generation is we have never been more connected yet more lonely and isolated than ever before,” Rowsey said. “[Through this project], we’re helping teach students how to interact with real people virtually through love and empathy.”
Preston Buck, a Union student and participant in the tri-school collaboration, said that this experience has prepared him to enter the workforce with confidence — helping him realize how to be proactive in communicating through email, Zoom and other virtual tools.
Rowsey encourages other faculty and staff at Union to build even more community partnerships with schools and companies.
“I think this external audience invites our students to think critically about how they present themselves and how they present Union University, which gives them greater real-world experience and confidence,” Rowsey said.
To learn more about Union University’s McAfee School of Business, visit uu.edu/programs/business/.