Why Economics & Business Analytics?

An all-too-common conversation of the past… 

“Patrick Henry College sounds like a wonderful place, but do you have a business major?”

“Unfortunately, not right now. But we hope to have one in the future.”

This was a frequent back-and-forth between prospective students and the admissions department for the first 14 years of Patrick Henry College’s existence. Unfortunately, the result of that conversation was the student choosing another college. How many exceptional, mission-fit students who were interested in studying business did PHC miss out on? We’ll never know, but it certainly validates the question: why didn’t PHC have a business program? After all, “Business” is the most popular major in the country. If the mission of Patrick Henry College is to lead the nation and shape the culture, shouldn’t the college train students to lead in the areas of business, finance, economics, and technology? 

The easy answer is “yes,” but as is often the case, the best answer is far more complicated.

This is the story about the origins of the Economics & Business Analytics major (EBA) at Patrick Henry College. It is a story that still amazes us. This story, like many stories at PHC, is a God story. We planned, He directed. We prayed, He inspired. We delved deeper and He led us to discover something new and different. 

It was never our goal to create EBA. We just started down the path of researching and exploring the possibility of a business major with a PHC flavor. The final result is a one-of-a-kind program that, as Executive Vice President and EBA Director Howard Schmidt says, “prepares our students for a seat at the King’s Table. We equip them with the knowledge and advanced skills to solve complex problems and to lead and serve at the highest levels.”

The journey to EBA officially began in 2014 as part of a long-range planning process initiated by then-Chancellor Dr. Michael Farris. Committees were formed to look at potential program offerings. They reviewed many possible majors, including music, strategic intelligence, international relations, science, education, and business. Committees were also formed to study PHC’s campus, its facilities, and even the flagship 63-credit Core Curriculum, making sure it was appropriately constructed and protected.

For the Business Committee, a team was assembled from faculty, staff, alumni, board members, and major donors, especially those who had successful careers in various areas of business and finance both in corporate America and private companies. It was through the initial work of this team that God revealed our first significant breakthrough and radically changed the direction of the plan. After months of prayer, discussion, and research—including visits to elite colleges and universities, the team came to the conclusion that a business major was not the best fit for Patrick Henry College.

Wait a minute. Wasn’t that the goal of the committee? They were tasked with creating the best business program possible in a way that fit the PHC ethos. But their findings didn’t mean no program would be created. It meant that PHC was called to create something new, different, and challenging—something that would truly put PHC graduates on a path to be difference-makers in a complex world.

As mentioned earlier, business is the most common major offered across the collegiate landscape. But we discovered that it has also become a saturated market with little innovation and, frankly, little rigor. The average business program tends to develop graduates who haven’t been stretched or challenged academically and have minimal analytical, speaking, or writing skills. The course offerings do little to prepare them for a complex and competitive landscape, especially in the ever-changing 21st century world where technology, innovation, and competition make companies and products obsolete in months instead of years. A graduate entering any economic enterprise must have the ability to think strategically and act decisively.

This is not happening. In 2023, Intelligent.com published a survey comprised of 800 companies and found that 4 in 10 employers avoid hiring recent college graduates. Fifty-eight percent said recent college graduates were unprepared for the workforce and nearly half of employers had to fire a recent college graduate. This is unacceptable, but it is also an opportunity.

As discussions and research continued, the team also realized that the Ivy League colleges had already come to this same conclusion years ago—a business major was not rigorous enough and wasn’t the answer. In fact, not a single one of the Ivy League institutions offers an undergraduate business degree. Instead, they offer economics majors, math majors, and engineering majors. Although these majors are very popular and far more rigorous than a business major, the committee realized that each of these programs came with some deficiencies which kept them from meeting marketplace demands.

What are the issues with Economics, Mathematics, and Engineering majors? 

Let’s start with economics. Economics has long been a premier field of study with plenty of academic rigor.  The study of economics often leads graduates to the Ph.D. level. Although our research revealed that economics programs open many doors for graduates, they do have a weakness. These programs lack the breadth, depth, and applied focus on practical business methods, and rely heavily on academic theory. Economics, after all, is considered a pure science by some, and is often narrow in its application.

Mathematics is an excellent major. The rise of technology, big data, and data analytics is a critical issue today. As technology has expanded, enormous amounts of data are being generated. Mathematics and data analytics have become essential tools for today’s leaders to gain decision-making insight into trends. Advanced logic skills are required for complex problem solving in the modern world. Although mathematics is extremely rigorous, it lacks the leadership, writing, and strategic thinking skills required in analyzing and communicating the results of solving complex problems. If you can’t communicate your findings or lead an organization/team, you won’t be running the organization.

Engineering is also a popular and rigorous option. In a technology-driven society there is an unending need for engineering programs. These programs provide both the rigor of mathematics and the problem-solving skills essential to complex problems that are badly needed in our society today. The downside of this major is the lack of study in areas such as strategy, finance, economics, and law while also (as the others) missing the interpersonal skills such as writing, leadership, and speaking. These soft skills are essential to leaders of large organizations. 

Outside of the rare, high-performing individual, the only chance of getting the complete academic package to be the leader of an economic enterprise was to combine one of these undergraduate programs with a graduate degree or MBA at the most prestigious institution possible. Undergraduate programs were simply not up to the task of holistically preparing students to create and deploy advanced technologies or solve complex technical, organizational, and industry problems while communicating and leading with the soft skills of a true CEO. 

The Challenges

The problem had been identified, but as usual, the solution is much more difficult. The new program had to be a unique fusion of free-market economics, advanced mathematics, complex problem-solving skills, and the soft skills of writing, speaking, and leadership. Based on the research, there was no program like this in any other major college or university. That was a challenge.

But there was another challenge. If you can develop that kind of program, where would you find the students capable of thriving in all these areas? To be successful, students would have to be highly intelligent, have capable soft skills (writing, speaking, and leadership), and have excellent math skills. They must not be daunted by difficult qualitative and quantitative problem sets. In addition, since this program would be at Patrick Henry College, they would have to be people who love the Lord and have committed their lives to Christ. In other words, it would be a one-of-a-kind program with one-of-a-kind students! 

With all this information, the team created a framework for the new major and named it Economics & Business Analytics. Once the direction and name of the major was set, the challenge of developing the actual course content became the next enormous hurdle.  With an extensive 63-credit Core Curriculum, PHC has little room available for major-required courses and major-elective courses.  These courses must be carefully selected because every course must count. Each course must build upon the other and each course must be recognized by the outside STEM world as significant, rigorous, and capable of opening future doors. To narrow our final selection of courses we decided to research the MBA course offerings for the top seven MBA programs in the United States.

At the time, Bloomberg Businessweek recognized these as:

#1 Harvard Business School

#2 Stanford Business School

#3 Duke University (Fuqua)

#4 The University of Chicago (Booth)

#5 Dartmouth College (Tuck)

#6 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

#7 Sloan School of Management (MIT)

The major-required courses and major-elective course offerings were then developed by reverse engineering those MBA programs, while making sure the EBA program offered both STEM-level advanced mathematics courses and MBA-level elective courses. This has taken several years to perfect, but we believe it has become a game-changer.

In addition to economics and advanced mathematics, students will also have the opportunity to grow in their business acumen while learning from experienced senior executives. Students will learn a broad range of concepts and roles essential to the efficient functioning of an economic enterprise. Available courses in this arena are Competitive Strategy, Leadership & Organizational Behavior, Business Methods & Entrepreneurship, Financial Analysis, and Legal Environment of Business. Students have the opportunity to learn from real-world experience through internships and the study of Harvard Business case studies.

In addition, we have added to the program the option of joining a student-led financial investment group (PHIG) where students learn to research, understand, and value publicly traded companies and analyze both corporate and individual business unit strategies.  Students also learn how to create and present professional pitch decks to investors and analysts. The PHIG program continues to grow and our graduates with PHIG experience are now being placed in a variety of industries including financial services, consulting, investment banking, and private equity.

The illustration below highlights what we call the Integrated Distinctives of the EBA program. Nowhere else can a student engage in a rigorous biblically-based program like this and be ready to excel and compete, often with their graduate-level peers.

And as a reminder, undergirding all of this is the PHC trademark 63-credit Core Curriculum, which teaches the historical emphasis of free markets in American economics as well as the fundamental political theory, logic, and biblical theology that grew out of historical Christianity and Western Civilization. PHC also offers elite extracurricular activities like forensics (the art of public argument), which teach students to prepare for and answer the questions that everyone else in the boardroom is trying to avoid.

A one-of-a-kind program

Patrick Henry College offers a unique alternative to other institutions by combining high academic rigor, a commitment to the founding principles that gave rise to our nation, and most importantly, an unwavering biblical worldview. It was imperative that the team settle on a program that would honor the value proposition offered by PHC and potentially create something that would transform the lives of our students, expand the pool of prospective students, and stretch students in a manner that would prepare them to stand apart from their peers.

Our graduates from this program have not only found their place in positions of finance as mentioned above, but they have also been well prepared for a wide-ranging set of career opportunities such as: policy analysts, data analysts, entrepreneurs, software developers, quality analysts, credit analysts, educators, business administrators, business analysts, intelligence analysts, and ministry leaders. Our graduates are also excelling in advanced degrees such as JDs, MBAs, Global MBAs, Masters in Divinity, Masters in Mathematics, Masters in Data Science, Masters in Counseling, and Masters in Management. Graduates have been accepted both in the U.S. and at international graduate programs.

It has been a remarkable 10 years since the EBA story began. PHC has seen a wave of changes. There is new leadership with Jack Haye and Howard Schmidt, a brand-new dorm (Shiloh), a premier and expanding forensics program, and now over 400 students who are immersed in the three commitments, unique in higher education: High Academic Rigor, Fidelity to the Spirit of the American Founding, and an Unwavering Biblical Worldview. 

PHC graduates are making an impact for Christ and for liberty, and are doing their part to preserve this nation we love for future generations. It has been quite the journey getting from no business program to this jewel we call Economics & Business Analytics. Now, our answer to prospective students is similar but different.

“Do you have a business major?”

“No, we have something better.”

EBA isn’t a business major, but something that is much, much more. We ended up in a place that no one at PHC expected. It is a testament to what can happen when people plan, pray, and work diligently under the Lord’s guidance. EBA now has the highest interest level of any major for incoming students, is the third largest major at PHC, and is producing incredible graduates who are truly prepared for a seat at the King’s Table.

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This article was originally published in the fall 2024 issue of Founders Magazine; released in October every year. Get your FREE subscription here.

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Patrick Henry College challenges the unacceptable status quo in higher education by combining the academic strength and commitment to biblical principles that elite institutions have lost; a commitment to high academic rigor, fidelity to the spirit of the American founding, and an unwavering biblical worldview.