5 Fascinating Facts about the Cameron School of Business at UST

In 2020, the Cameron School of Business (CSB) celebrated its 40^th anniversary of providing ethically oriented business education at the University of St. Thomas (UST) campus in Houston, Texas. Since 1980, graduates from all walks of life have learned not only how to become business leaders but how to do good business as well.

At CSB, success is more than just making a profit. Our programs are steeped in the Jesuit education model, a 450-year-old tradition that seeks to create lifelong learners and successful professionals through intellectual, moral, and spiritual development and commitment to service.

Read on to learn just a few of the many things that makes CSB special.

1. The faculty at CSB is highly diverse, international, and distinguished in their fields

Not only do most of the UST business school professors hold the highest degree in their fields, but they also come from a wide variety of personal and professional backgrounds. Learners also benefit from consistently small class sizes; the current student-to-faculty ratio at CSB is 16 to 1.

The Cameron School of Business faculty features experts in fields like accounting, economics, management, and marketing. Some specific areas of their research expertise include:

• Forensic accounting
• Corporate social responsibility
• Finance and investments
• Financial planning
• Strategic marketing
• Business strategy
• Branding

2. CSB was one of the first signatories of the United Nations Global Compact

As one of the first 100 signatories of the United Nations Global Compact, the Cameron School of Business is committed to the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). It’s one of the only schools in Texas and the only one in Houston who is a member of this compact.

This distinction means you can expect issues like sustainability, environmental protection, gender equality, and diversity and inclusiveness to be embedded in every course, along with the six PRME principles:

• Purpose: We will develop the capabilities of students to be future generators of sustainable value for business and society at large and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economy.
• Values: We will incorporate our academic activities, curricula and organizational practices with the values of global social responsibility as portrayed in international initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact.
• Method: We will create educational frameworks, materials, processes and environments that enable effective learning experiences for responsible leadership.
• Research: We will engage in conceptual and empirical research that advances our understanding about the role, dynamics and impacts of corporations in the creation of sustainable social, environmental and economic value.
• Partnership: We will interact with managers of business corporations to extend our knowledge of their challenges in meeting social and environmental responsibilities and to explore jointly effective approaches to meeting these challenges.
• Dialogue: We will facilitate and support dialogue and debate among educators, students, businesses, governments, consumers, media, civil society organizations, and other interested groups and stakeholders on critical issues related to global social responsibility and sustainability.

3. CSB is accredited and well connected among industry organizations

The Cameron School of Business is fully accredited by the AACSB, the most respected accrediting body in business education worldwide. This distinction is recognized across the globe by employers, recruiters and other universities and signifies that UST is committed to improving the quality of business education throughout the world.

In addition to being part of the AACSB Business Education Alliance, we also have several association relationships with prominent industry organizations. This includes the American Marketing Association (AMA), Greater Houston Business Ethics Roundtable, Business Ethics Forum, Women in Bio, Society of Physician Entrepreneurs and many more. These connections can provide you with even more opportunities to network with thought leaders in the field.

4. CSB is the only Catholic business school in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

The Cameron School of Business is the only Catholic institution in Galveston-Houston area, which is the fifth-largest archdiocese in the country and serves nearly two million Catholics. While many schools are opting toward increasingly technical education, UST emphasizes the importance of a liberal education and is firmly rooted in the Jesuit belief of cura personalis,or caring for the whole person.

The UST core curriculum includes 21 credits of theology and philosophy. Students even take a “synthesis course,” which is selected with the help of an academic advisor, with the goal of integrating theology and philosophy into the student’s major.

Basilian Fathers founded UST in 1947, and more than 70 members of their order have served the university since then. The pursuit of truth, values and morals are not explicit in one course — they are rooted in every class throughout the entire program.

Despite its rich Catholic tradition, UST is accepting and encouraging of students from all faith backgrounds.

5. The school is located in the most diverse city in the U.S. (and the third largest)

UST’s central location in the thriving metropolis of Houston proves to be a huge asset for students. Our campus is situated close to downtown, just minutes away from the museum district, the Texas Medical Center and the Galleria. It’s also less than 25 miles from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in northern Houston.

Houston’s status as a major international hub for the energy, medical and aerospace industries and home to more than twenty Fortune 500 companies is also a big advantage when it comes to connecting students with internship and career opportunities.

The rich diversity of the city is reflected in the CSB student body and throughout the university as a whole. Over half of UST’s students are minorities, and many are first-generation college students. UST is also recognized by the federal government as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, reflecting its greater-than-25-percent Hispanic student population.

And with over 7,000 business school alumni — many of whom settled in the Houston area — there are plenty of opportunities for current students to link up with and learn from successful graduates.

Go beyond “business as usual” with a degree from UST

A degree from the Cameron School of Business will not only provide you with the skills and knowledge needed to become a business leader; it will help you develop a strong moral and ethical compass to guide you towards a successful future. Whether you’re just starting out and pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration or looking to advance your career with a graduate degree, you won’t regret choosing UST.

Learn more about the Cameron School of Business.