A new partnership between Georgia Tech College of Management and Agnes Scott College Tech College of Management will encourage more women to pursue careers in business and management.

The three-week summer program, called Bridge to Business, will launch in the summer of 2011. It is designed to introduce liberal arts majors at Agnes Scott, a private women's college, to the study of business. The non-credit program will acquaint students with different aspects of business education, covering a wide array of topics, including accounting, business communications, international business and entrepreneurship.

“For some young people, the corporate and business world is a sort of black box, where people wear dark gray suits and dour faces. We want to open that box up and say, ‘Hey, there are all these things you can do in the corporate world, and some of them are exciting,’” said Tom Will, assistant professor of economics and organizational management at Agnes Scott and co-director of the Bridge to Business program.

Will hopes the program spurs participants not only to pursue careers in corporate leadership or finance, but also to consider careers as economics or business professors.

Women continue to be underrepresented in many parts of the business world, making up only 2.4 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs and 15.4 percent of corporate officers at Fortune 500 companies.

“A liberal arts education is ideal preparation for business leadership because it teaches critical and creative thinking, teamwork and excellence in writing and speaking,” said Elizabeth Kiss, president of the college. “As a college devoted to educating women to lead, we are eager to expand the opportunities available to our students in the business world. Research shows that the most successful companies are those with diverse leadership teams. So creating a stronger pipeline to business leadership for women is not only good for them, but also good for our larger economy and society.”

“This partnership with Georgia Tech is also a great example of how Atlanta’s colleges and universities are collaborating in smart and innovative ways that serve our students and our education missions,” Kiss added.

“We’re excited about the opportunity to prepare more young women for leadership roles in business,” said Sri Narasimhan, professor and acting dean of Georgia Tech College of Management. “We believe that the Bridge to Business program will lead to broader career opportunities for its participants at Agnes Scott College. The confidence and business acumen they will gain could inspire them to take their careers to even greater heights through eventual MBA studies.”

Bridge to Business will include business simulations, interactive case studies and experiential learning, such as trading on a simulated stock exchange floor at Georgia Tech. Students will also pay on-site visits to two companies.

Students will meet daily for three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. Courses will be taught by two Agnes Scott faculty members and 14 Georgia Tech faculty members.

Optimally, students will come from a wide range of backgrounds and majors so that they bring different perspectives to the courses, Will said. Current students who are sophomores or juniors with an interest in exploring a business career are encouraged to apply for the program. The application deadline for the 30 available positions is Feb. 15.