October 3, 1997

Caroline Fisher is on the cutting edge of business education

by Bill Fisher, '97, Intern in the Office of Publications

As Loyola prepares itself for the next millennium, we are all looking for ideas and people to assist the university in occupying a position of national acclaim. Caroline Fisher, Ph.D., is exactly that kind of individual. As the director of the Masters of Quality Management (MQM) program and a marketing professor as well, Fisher is working to help the College of Business Administration realize its own visions of national attention. Fisher, who has published extensively, with over 40 publications to her credit, realizes the positive impact that results from having research appear in print.

"We are looking to develop a national reputation, and we will accomplish this through more research and publications, especially at the journal level in the quality management field." The MQM degree, according to Fisher, is another tool that the College of Business Administration has to gain national attention. The MQM program is offered through a consortium of the College of Business Administration and the STAT-A-MATRIX Institute, the world's leading and most diversified consulting organization dedicated to the sole pursuit of quality management. Quality management is a unique blend of the disciplines of management, marketing, organizational design and development, statistics, accounting, and engineering sciences. The MQM program targets non­traditional students; quality management professionals or other qualified applicants participate in the program, and are responsible for pre-classroom reading and writing assignments, an intense eight days on campus every six months, and applied projects conducted at their workplace. Most importantly, though, is that the College of Business Administration is the first to offer such a program in the nation.

Fisher is interested in seeing the role of other non­traditional education programs developed and promoted more thoroughly, namely education through the Internet. She sees these classes as able to benefit the non­traditional student, including those working in an offshore setting, where classes could be taught through a system of fax, e­mail, and World Wide Web.

Fisher, who has taught at Loyola since 1985, is interested in seeing Loyola's traditional students reach new levels as well. She has taught classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels in various areas of marketing, consumer behavior, and quality management, and is involved in a number of special programs to develop students' abilities and awareness outside of the classroom. This past February, she and another faculty member coached a team of 10 marketing students to first place at the American Marketing Association's Case Competition. A total of 377 different chapters had the opportunity to enter the competition, which required competing teams to prepare a half­hour presentation for Northwestern Mutuals, and then field 15 minutes worth of questions. In May, Fisher completed an internship designed to integrate the knowledge and experiences gained through the MQM program into the undergraduate level of study. The internship was performed in conjunction with the New Orleans Sheraton's Banquet Department with assistance from four business students. Funding for the operation came through a grant from the Louisiana Educational Quality Support Fund (LAEQSF). This past summer she embarked on a month­long trip to Mexico-to teach, of course. Fisher was in Mexico in June to teach eight students marketing and quality management courses.

All the extra hours that some might view as drudgery are nothing of the kind to Fisher; to her they are a labor of love. For Fisher, Loyola's best aspect is the people. "I think there are a lot of students and professors alike who truly enjoy being here. The Loyola community really feels like family."