This summer a $2 million donation was given to Bradley’s Executive MBA program.
Theresa Falcon, a 2005 graduate of the program, provided the gift.
“The financial support will enhance the education of the EMBA students and help us provide scholarships for potential students,” said Rob Baer, dean of the Foster College of Business Administration.
The previously unnamed program was christened the Theresa S. Falcon Executive MBA program.
Baer said the name added prestige to Bradley.
“We’re only the second EMBA program to be named and the first in the world to be named after a woman,” he said. “This program is designed to educate and teach leadership to people in central Illinois … they would usually have to travel in order to further their education.”
The program began in the fall of 2001 and has seen 109 graduates.
Jack Russell, the executive director of the program, said most applicants are discouraged by the cost of the program. He said he believes the number will pick up when the economy gets better and with the help of scholarship money from Falcon’s donation, although the maximum amount of students the program can take is 33.
Baer said the program takes 16 months to complete and all classes are taken together so the class graduates together.
“The students are put in teams together and must work with the same team,” he said.
Russell said people working to achieve an EMBA are on a different mindset than others.
“It’s very different from an MBA,” he said. “It’s strategic in nature and the average student is around 40 years old and in middle to senior management. They want to enhance their career and be on a different level.”
Russell said Falcon was one of those people and she embodied what the program is really about.
Falcon passed away from lung cancer on Saturday.
“She was special,” Russell said. “She wanted to learn more and do better because that is what you should do with God-given talent … she knew she was missing something, so she went out and did it. It was never about the monetary reward, it was about using your talents and highest potential. And never quitting that.”
