University’s degree-completion program announces name change
Trevecca’s School of Graduate and Continuing Studies’ (SGCS) flagship degree-completion program now has a new name: Bachelor of Arts in management and leadership.
Formerly known as the Bachelor of Arts in management and human relations—or simply MHR—the new name is designed to better reflect the program’s core content.
“The MHR program has been in existence for 30 years and it’s a name that definitely has staying power in the Middle Tennessee area, but it’s also a name that’s really confusing,” said Dr. Cathy Hendon, the program’s director and an associate professor. “When looking at branching out and expanding, we had to have a name that reflected what the students were learning.”
Hendon says the new name, which better describes the program and its goals, will help promote future growth. After reflecting on the program’s strengths and conducting market research, the name became clear to SGCS officials. It had to reflect the program’s twin strengths of management and leadership.
“We have a wonderful management program that is already heavily incorporated into the curriculum, but a strength of the SGCS and our faculty is the leadership component that we bring,” Hendon said. “That’s a definite strength for Trevecca because [servant leadership] is a very deliberate, woven thread through all of the curriculum.”
The program’s curriculum has also been updated to better reflect the changing needs of students and their employers. The program’s curriculum is designed to help students nurture and hone the skills and qualities their employers want. That’s why the curriculum now emphasizes three core areas: personal development, leadership development and management development.
“We were the first program [in Middle Tennessee],” Hendon said. “We have that history and we’re just building upon it. We can’t stay the same when the world is growing and changing so rapidly. We have to look at what the industry really wants.”
The program was one of the first degree-completion programs in Tennessee when the University began offering it in 1987. Designed to offer working adults an opportunity to complete their bachelor’s degrees, the program has always had an emphasis on personal development, critical thinking, communication and self-awareness.
“We’re building on a legacy,” Hendon said. “These changes will position us for growth. We’re trying to honor the past and looking forward to the future of how this degree can be used in other markets.”
The program has also been clearly characterized by community, with faculty, staff and students caring for and encouraging one another. Hendon says those characteristics will still define the program, now in its 31st year.
“I’ve been here (Trevecca) a long time,” Hendon said. “I know what the MHR program means to the University and our graduates. It will still provide that level of customer service and student interaction that was so clearly defined in the MHR program. That’s not going away.”
All changes will take effect in the fall, with cohorts starting after August 28. Students currently enrolled in the MHR program will complete their degrees under the previous name and curriculum.
Learn more about the Bachelor of Arts in management and leadership here.
Media contact: Mandy Crow, mmcrow@trevecca.edu, 615-248-1695