Adding Scope to CBA's Programs

Further program development was desired. For instance, management should include courses in purchasing, stores, and inventory control. Insurance needed development in the areas of casualty, social, laws, wills, trusts, and estates. The marketing program needs to include market research and wholesaling. Even the marketing of livestock was under consideration. Business administration had embarked upon a cooperative program with the School of Adult Education to sponsor a series of programs and workshops in such areas as insurance and real estate. World trade conferences received special attention.

The growth of the college was further emphasized in 1951 when the university catalog listed 15 business administration faculty members. The following are among names that will be recognized by many active or retired faculty at this fiftieth anniversary of the College: Crossman, Davison, Holley, Wilson, Bull, Hockett, Lewis, and Minteer. At that time, The College of Business Administration had general requirements for graduation that required students to be proficient in English, earn grades of at least "C" in 64 hours and that thirty of the last thirty-six hours had to be earned in residence. Changes in the College were accelerated following the 1968 merger of the Municipal University of Omaha with the University of Nebraska System.

Real Estate was doing better than expected, and Lucas placed full credit for this success on Glenn Lewis who worked closely with both his students and professional real estate individuals in Omaha. Glenn Lewis was assisted in developing Real Estate by R. Wayne Wilson. Professor Lewis was advisor to Rho Epsilon, a national professional real estate fraternity, that provided real estate students opportunities to meet local real estate professionals and observe the kind of working environment they will face in their chosen profession.

Insurance, on the other hand was not doing as well as desired, but Lucas felt that it would grow when he secured a "man of stature" in the insurance field to his staff. By mid-1952, an insurance specialist, Mr. William E Green, BBA, was hired to develop the program in insurance. However, his efforts were short term because he left the University a year later and was replaced by Grant Osborne, Ph.D., and later by Willis Rokes, Ph.D., who developed more aspects of the program with special emphasis on building the standing of professional certification programs in the insurance industry.

The College of Education pressed for a graduate seminar in business. In an annual report, Lucas wrote: "We continue to hold in abeyance any consideration of seminar courses in business at the graduate level to accommodate master's candidates in education who would like business administration as a minor. We believe it would be unwise to move in that direction until such time as there is sufficient demand and we are adequately staffed." In the right margin of the annual report, a university administrator penciled "right."