Kevin O’Mara, Art Cassill present at Academy of Business Education conference

Kevin O’Mara, professor of management and executive director of the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Art Cassill, the Wesley R. Elingberg Professor of Accounting, presented their pedagogical design for a study abroad course involving graduate students from the Elon MBA and Elon Law programs at the Academy of Business Education (ABE) annual conference. 

O’Mara and Cassill presented their paper titled, “Lessons on Designing and Delivering a Successful Inter-Graduate Program Study Abroad Course Mixing MBAs and Law Students:  Cuba and the Cayman Islands.”

The paper outlines the design process involved in executing a novel course engaging students from two separate graduate programs. The authors are not aware of a similar course being taught at a leading law school or business school. The purpose of the course was to demonstrate to MBAs the importance of understanding the legal aspects of business, particularly when pursuing global opportunities while also enabling law students to witness how business operates within a global context and its legal implications. In addition to the business/legal interplay, students were able to explore two very different societies operating under very different forms of governance. Although Cuba and the Cayman Islands are close neighbors in terms of geographic proximity, they are worlds apart with respect to economic and governmental systems. This contrast, along with the different educational backgrounds of the students, allowed for an interesting interaction of people, content and perspectives. The paper addresses the key execution issues involved with designing and delivering this unique course format.

ABE is a multidisciplinary association whose mission includes “enhancing the teaching of business education and improving the learning environment through educational research, curriculum development and creative pedagogy; fostering interdisciplinary interaction through multidisciplinary meetings and programs; and encouraging and supporting faculty development.”