The influence of Kansas University’s School of Business has long extended to the Kansas City business community and beyond. Now KU is embracing international business like never before.

“We have several things going on, and we think we are becoming known as a good resource for international business education services,” said William Fuerst, the school’s dean.

In fact, the school’s Center for International Business, Education and Research is part of a nationwide network of 30 such programs existing to help American businessmen compete and excel in the global marketplace. Other schools with a CIBER program include University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Texas.

Earlier this summer, the KU CIBER program received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The grant allows the school to delve into projects that will enhance international business education at KU, encourage faculty research and provide outreach to the business community.

It also will allow students in the master of business administration program to participate in an eight-week study of international business strategy and research global industries. MBA students also will spend about two weeks overseas.

The business school already has an MBA program in Italy. Not only do students in other countries enter the MBA program, but also some Americans earning an MBA go to Italy for part of their studies.

“About 25 percent of our students have some sort of academic experience abroad,” Fuerst said.

The school has other study abroad opportunities in countries such as China, France and Mexico, Fuerst said.

Closer to home, the business school intends to become more involved with companies in the Kansas City area, Fuerst said. The school’s Center for Management Education, created about six months ago, provides faculty members with the appropriate expertise to conduct studies for certain firms.

“Our approach on this is that we have some personnel in our CME that can go out and work with companies to see what their needs are,” Fuerst said. “We come back and develop a program for those needs with their involvement. Our center directors go back later and do an assessment to make sure the programs the companies are participating in are actually being used.”

The school is working with such companies as BHA Group Holdings, Farmland and EBY.

The School of Business has also gone through a fine-tuning of its MBA program. MBA students now must have two years of work experience before they can enroll.

“Companies were telling us that MBAs without work experience aren’t as highly sought after as MBAs with work experience,” Fuerst said.

Entry in the school’s undergraduate program is very competitive, Fuerst said. The average grade-point average of a student coming into the school as a junior is 3.47, he said.