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Sydney Lewis School of Business

P: 800-368-3227    E: academic_affairs@vuu.edu

About Dr. Robin R. Davis

She brings more than 25 years of experience in the field of economic development and higher education and has taught classes at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Dean Davis' leadership within the University includes establishing the Sigma Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Honor Society at Virginia Union University in 2020. Dr. Robin R. Davis serves as the Dean of the Sydney Lewis School of Business at Virginia Union University.

Dr. Davis was recently appointed to serve a (three-year) term on the National Global Education Committee for the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) for Region 2. Dr. Davis earned her B.S. in Business Administration from South Carolina State University, her Masters in Business Administration from Alabama A&M University, and her Ph.D. in Organization Management from Capella University.

Mission

The Sydney Lewis School of Business (SLSB) seeks to prepare students for 1) leadership positions in business and government organizations in a competitive global economy or 2) to pursue graduate studies. The program promotes intellectual, technical, professional and ethical development so students can be competitive in the global economy.

Retention

The School of Business Retention number is 78%

Graduation Rate

The graduation rate in the School of Business is up by 78% as compared to 2021.

Graduate Program

The School of Business has a 85% acceptance rate and has a current enrollment of 54 students in the graduate program 

Job placement rates (as appropriate)

SLSB students are getting job placement due to the partnership of the School of Business and Workforce Development Department.

Internships

85% of the School of Business students are receiving internships.

Employment advancement (as appropriate)

Students are receiving competitive salaries.

Acceptance into graduate programs (2019-2021)

Students are graduating with high academic honors and thereby are being accepted into graduate school at a higher rate.

Successful transfer of credits (2019-2021)

Virginia Union University award transfer credits for those courses that are compatible with our courses or that can be used as electives. 

Enrollment

Sydney Lewis School of Business enrollment numbers are steadily increasing (2019-2022)


View SLSB Data-Results

Accreditation

ACBSP is the leading specialized accreditation association for business education that supports, celebrates, and rewards teaching excellence. The association embraces teaching excellence and emphasizes to students that it is essential to learn how to learn. ACBSP also acknowledges the importance of scholarly research and inquiry and believes that such activities facilitate improved teaching.

Accreditation by the ACBSP affirms our commitment to continuous academic quality improvement through its rigorous affirmation process. Among other qualities, ACBSP accreditation means that our faculty come to the classroom with real-world experience, programs reflect current realities and skills required in the business world, and student support services reflect the latest support strategies to ensure success in these programs:

Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)

2018 SLSB Graduates by Accredited Degree Program

There are approximately 2,900 institutions of higher education that have business administration, finance, management, and marketing. Many institutions also have specialized areas of study such as human resource management, management information systems, and public administration that are part of a business academic unit and considered to be business-related curricula. Click here learn more about the ACBSP

Departments

The Sydney Lewis School of Business has two departments: Accounting and Management

Degrees

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Department Accounting and Finance
Majors Accounting 
Finance and Banking
Degree B.S. in Accounting
B.S. in Finance and Banking
Department  Management and Marketing
Majors Business Analytics
Entrepreneur Management
Hospitality Management*
Marketing
Degree B.S.in Business Analytics*
B.S. in Entrepreneur Management
B.S. in Hospitality Management*
B.S. in Marketing


GRADUATE DEGREE PROGRAMS

Department Business Administration
Major

Business Administration (EMBA)
Concentrations:

  1. Church Management
  2. Entrepreneurship
  3. General Master of Business Administration
  4. Global Supply Chain Management
  5. Hospitality Management
Degree Executive Master of Business Administration*
Department Hospitality Management
Major Hospitality Management
Degree Master of Science in Hospitality Management*

*Denotes: New programs that has been approved by the Regional Accreditation body (SACS COC), but will be approved by ACBSP after the completion of the first graduating class.

Majors & Minors

MAJORS

  • Accounting 
  • Business and Information Technology/ Secondary Education
  • Entrepreneur Management
  • Finance and Banking
  • Marketing

MINORS

  • Accounting

  • Business

  • Marketing

Accounting Minor (20 credit hours)

  • The minor requires 20 hours after three prerequisites are met.

Prerequisites that may be taken to satisfy general education requirements:

  • ECO 231 Principles of Economics

  • MAT 160 Pre-Calculus

  • CIS 162 Business Computer Application or

Minor Courses:

  • MGT 199 Professional and Ethical Development

  • ACC 201 Financial Accounting

  • ACC 202 Managerial Accounting

  • ACC 303 Accounting Information Systems

  • ACC 305 Federal Personal Taxes AND

  • FNB 300 Principles of Finance OR

  • ACC 301 Intermediate Accounting I

Note: Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses taken for the minor in Business program.

Business Minor (19 credit hours)

Required:

  • ACC 201 Financial Accounting

  • MKT 300 Principles of Marketing

  • FNB 300 Principles of Finance (Prerequisite ACC 201)

AND

Three other specified courses chosen in consultation with the Chair of the SLSB and approved by the Dean of the SLSB.

Note:  Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses taken for the minor in Business program.

Marketing Minor (12 credit hours)

Required:

  • MKT 300 (Prerequisite ECO 231; which may be used as a general education requirement) AND

Choose three additional courses from the following:

  • (MKT 300 is the prerequisite for all of the following courses)

  • MKT 370 Buyer Behavior

  • MKT 371 Retailing

  • MKT 376 Small Enterprise Marketing

  • MKT 379 Promotional Strategy

  • MKT 383 Salesmanship

  • MKT 473 Organization to Organization Marketing

  • MKT 474 Global Marketing (additional prerequisite of MGT 316 or permission of instructor)

  • MKT 479 Marketing Research (additional prerequisite of a basic statistics class such as MAT 201, CCJ 335, PSY 203 or SOC 319)

  • MKT 490 Special Topics (as appropriate with permission of instructor)

Note: Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all courses taken for the minor in Business program.

Outlined Program of Study

Requirements (B. S. Degree, 120 hours)
(A minimum grade of C is required in all English, Mathematics, Economics and Business Courses)

The SLSB core, required of all business students, uses a holistic approach to learning and understanding how functional areas in business and management are intertwined and applicable to a broad range of organizational issues and problems.

General Education 52 hours
SLSB Core Courses 38 hours

  • ACC 201 Financial Accounting 4

  • ACC 202 Managerial Accounting 4

  • ECO 232 Micro-Economics 3

  • FNB 300 Principles of Finance 3

  • MGT 199 Professional and Ethical Development 3

  • MGT 200 Intro to Legal Environments 3

  • MGT 213 Managerial Communications 3

  • MGT 313 Operations Management 3

  • MGT 314 Management and Organizational Behavior 3

  • MGT 316 Global Business 3

  • MKT 300 Principles of Marketing 3

  • MGT 413 Strategic Management in a Global Environment 3

Other Departmental Requirements 6 hours

  • MAT 201 Statistics 3

  • MAT 210 Business Calculus 3


Courses Required in Major 18 - 23 hours

  • Restricted Electives 1 - 6 hours

Total Hours Required for Degree 120 hours.

Ruth Coles Harris Leadership Institute

The Ruth Coles Harris Leadership Institute at Virginia Union University’s Sydney Lewis School of Business offers a lecture series to deepen students’ understanding of business and workshops and seminars for the community. The institute is named after Dr. Ruth Coles Harris, who served on the faculty at VUU for nearly 48 years. She was the first director of the Sydney Lewis School of Business and oversaw the development and expansion of the school’s curriculum and its enrollment to more than 400 students at her retirement in 1997. When she retired, she was named a Distinguished Professor Emerita at Virginia Union University.

Dr. Ruth Coles Harris earned her degree and MBA from New York University in 1949.  Hoping to inspire her students, in 1962, Harris took and passed the two-day examination and became the first African-American woman in Virginia to be certified as a public accountant at a time when there were fewer than 100 African American CPAs in the nation. In 1977, she received doctorate in education from the College of William and Mary.   

Recognized with numerous awards and honors, Dr. Harris established an endowed scholarship for the business school to support future accounting and business majors.


Scholarships

  • Dr. Ruth C. Harris Endowed Scholarship

  • Mrs. Yvonne M. and Dr. S. Dallas Simmons Endowed Scholarship

  • Mrs. Theresa Walden Endowed Scholarship

  • Nationwide Insurance Company Endowed Scholarship

  • Retail Merchant Association Endowed Scholarship

  • M. M. Gordon Endowed Scholarship

Note: These scholarships are available to all students pursuing majors in the SLSB.