College of Charleston School of Business Invites Members of Business Community into Classrooms

The College of Charleston School of Business is committed to providing its students with opportunities to learn from and connect with experienced business professionals. In Spring 2023, School of Business students participated in 160 different engagements involving “speakers.” 

Some of the speakers participated several times. For example, Anita Zucker, CEO of the InterTech Group, visited with three different groups: Dr. Renard Harris’s MGMT 345 class, the ENTR 200 class (hosted by Dr. Dave Wyman and Instructors Lancie Affonso and Sarah Castle), and the Schottland Scholars. Others joined as speakers for a larger event, such as the German-American Business Summit. Some community members joined as guest speakers and liked it so much that they applied to be instructors, such as Troy Knauss, our new Instructor in Entrepreneurship. 

Other friends of the business school who frequently mentor students did not make the original list. For example, neither Stuart Williams, founder, CEO, and chairman of InPlace Impact, nor Bill Finn, former chairman and CEO of Asten Johnson, are on the original list, but both are in and out of the building weekly. They have been added to the list. 

The list does not include the industry experience brought to our students by adjunct faculty, instructors, and tenure-track faculty. These individuals do not count as “speakers” but often serve as a source for mentoring, career advice, and network introductions.  

We are still missing the speakers from several programs. If you have an engagement that should be on the list, check with me to see if it is there. 

It is clear that members of the School of Business believe that inviting members of the business community into our classrooms is one of the things that makes us special. These engagements provide students with valuable insights and experiences that they can’t get from textbooks or lectures. They are sure to help students prepare for their future careers in business. 

Note: This project was completed by Student Ambassador Savannah Lominac, Class of 2026.