Mitchell College’s business division is now the R. Carlson Division of Business, named for alumnus Richard “Rick” E. Carlson ’64, a longtime supporter of the college.
A formal naming ceremony took place recently in the Bond House, the current location of the business division. President Tracy Y. Espy, Ph.D., Provost Mika Nash, Ed.D., Business Division Chair James Patsalides, Ph.D., and sophomore business student Collin Jefferson gave remarks.
A recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award and former Mitchell College trustee, Carlson is the president and owner of Prospect Products Inc., a manufacturing company in Newington, Conn. His innovative spirit and leadership turned Prospect Products into a leading global probe pin provider to the electronics industry.
Carlson earned his associate degree in mechanical engineering from Mitchell and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in industrial administration from the University of Bridgeport, a degree he designed for himself to combine business and engineering.
Supporting Students, Enhancing Professional Experiences
“The R. Carlson Division of Business provides the infrastructure to support our students in building out their design projects, significantly enhancing their professional experiences in the Mlab. These are exciting times for business students at Mitchell College,” said Patsalides.
The Mlab at Mitchell College pairs students with friendly “clients” for real-world, experiential learning projects. It emphasizes teamwork, design thinking, professional ethics, problem solving, project management, and persuasion and influence.
In addition to its innovative Mlab, the Mitchell College Division of Business recently added two new initiatives that will give students more opportunities for real-world learning and professional work experiences.
First, the business division signed an agreement with Startups & Scholars, a Hartford agency funded by ctnext (Connecticut’s innovation fund). Startups & Scholars will provide paid consulting opportunities for Mlab students through the new Studio | Mitchell club. Through these unique opportunities, business students will engage in part-time paid work aligned with their degree specializations. Areas of work include digital marketing, professional sales, project management, automation, and operations.
Second, Mitchell has been designated an official studio by Design for America (DFA), an international network of college and university design studios. DFA offers focused experiences where students use design thinking to solve real-world problems. It equips emerging professionals with the skills and competencies to address community and global challenges using creativity and structured problem solving. Integrated throughout Mitchell College’s innovative Management and Communication degree programs, design thinking curriculum is foundational to the college’s approach to the business program. Mitchell and Yale are currently the only DFA designated studios in the state of Connecticut.
