As the Broad School continues to focus on Global Initiatives, its faculty work to extend the college’s reach beyond U.S. borders. One example is Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management Anthony Ross, who is co-directing a course on global supply chain management in South Africa at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.

"Michigan State has maintained very rich, long-term relationships with universities around the world," he says. "I think being engaged globally broadens the college’s reach and enhances my perspective as a faculty member on global business."

Ross says the recent economic crisis has forced companies around the world to look for more efficient and cost-effective strategies. His course is aimed at helping managers understand the specific problems facing African businesses and finding ways to tackle these problems. The real-world experience of the students is a key component of the content of the course.

He places a high value on global exchange and the ability of international experiences to change the way students learn. "Faculty engaged in foreign countries create opportunities to tell our story to others and to also inspire our current students to do more, learn more, achieve more wherever they come from…wherever they go."

For more information about business study abroad opportunities, visit: http://global.broad.msu.edu/studyabroad/

Ross is also the Donald Gordon International Fellow at the University of Cape Town. His research interests include issues in the design of supply chain systems; the dimensions of supply chain efficiency and their relationship to cost, speed and quality flexibilities in the presence of complicating resource inputs and the role of disruptive technology; and buyer-supplier relationship performance and management. He received his PhD from Indiana University.