School of Business
St. Bonaventure's School of Business has taken its rightful place as one of the world's premier business schools.
We're proud of our accreditation by the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business, a prestigious designation shared by only 5% of the world's business schools. We're one of the smallest institutions with AACSB accreditation.
Not only do we offer top-rated programs, but we deliver them within the personalized, small-school environment that has always characterized St. Bonaventure.
Our academic programs are uniquely linked to the university's Franciscan mission. We incorporate service learning into our curriculum and embrace the values of compassion, wisdom and integrity. We strive to shape future business leaders who measure success by how their work betters the lives of others.
6 career-oriented undergraduate majors
Our strong core of academic programs prepare our majors for a variety of interesting and rewarding careers.
- ACCOUNTING prepares students for work in a variety of accounting and business fields. We also offer a 4+1 BBA/MBA program in which you can earn a bachelor's degree in accounting and an MBA in five years or less.
- ECONOMICS majors examine the production and consumption of goods, and analyze real-world issues such as international trade, poverty, taxes, crime, and education.
- FINANCE majors are groomed for jobs in financial management. Our program is recognized by CFA Institute for holding to rigorous educational and ethical standards.
- MARKETING students are prepared for careers that are experiencing double-digit job growth: advertising, e-commerce, promotions, marketing management, and moe.
- MANAGEMENT majors acquire broad-based business knowledge to prepare them for roles as planners. problem-solvers and business leaders.
- SPORTS MANAGEMENT majors are steered toward the business side of sports, such as facilities and event management; sales, promotion and marketing; executive roles with organizes and franchises.
2 early assurance programs for incoming freshmen
Prospective freshmen who meet certain qualifications may be granted early assurance to our graduate-level programs.
4+1 BBA/MBA early assurance program
Qualifying freshmen may enter our 150-hour 4+1 MBA in professional accountancy program in which they first earn a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting, then their MBA, all in 5 years or less. LEARN MORE
Early assurance in sport administration
Qualifying high school seniors who enroll in a bachelor's degree program at St. Bonaventure are guaranteed placement in our Master of Science in Business in sport administration program upon satisfactory completion of undergraduate requirements. LEARN MORE.
The School of Business allows students who are interested in business, but unsure what particular area they want to pursue, the opportunity to start classes and explore their options. You take the same business core courses required of all business majors as you decide on a major.
Learn more at Undeclared Majors
Foundational Courses in business
Students majoring in areas other than business who want to augment their studies with foundational business courses should consider a grouping of courses that introduce you to the principles of accounting, finance, economics, marketing, management and
statistics.
These pre-professional courses may be of particular interest to nonmajors who may wish eventually to enroll in a graduate program in business.
Learn more about our Pre-professional Studies in Business
Business minors
Business and nonbusiness majors alike may broaden their academic experience by pursuing one of 10 academic minors in the School of Business.
We offer minors in accounting, business administration, economics, family business, finance, international business, management, marketing, quantitative analysis for business, and sports management.
Learn more at Undergraduate Minors in Business
Also available is a minor in leadership. This 18-hour minor, which offers a curriculum spanning
academic schools at the university, is open to all degree-seeking students, regardless of their majors.
2 graduate programs & an online certificate
- TRADITIONAL OR ONLINE MBA
Our AACSB-accredited Master of Business Administration program prepares you to be an outstanding professional, and an outstanding person.
- SPORT ADMINISTRATION
The Master of Science in Sport Administration is designed for students who want a business degree that applies an in-depth understanding of the sport business industry.
- STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE
A noncredit, online, independent-learning certificate offered in partnership with LBL Strategies
Experiential learning: Internships put you on the job
Our internship program provides students access to progressive, hands-on learning in businesses ranging from small organizations just around the corner to international corporations with connections around the globe.
The School of Business Internship Program provides students with a practical business world working environment, which is essential for a more complete understanding of the application of business theories and procedures.
Through mentored intern hours, students gain vital insight into the day-to-day operations of a business. They hone both hard and soft skills, learn the importance of networking and improve their post-graduation job prospects.
Learn more at
School of Business Internships.
One-of-a-kind experiential opportunities
From more than a dozen academic and service-related clubs and organizations to a study abroad journey to mainland China, School of Business students have many opportunities to augment their classroom work.
Students in Money Management (SIMM)
Founded in 2004 by Bonaventure graduate of 1985, Christopher Kinslow, a 1985 SBU graduate, SIMM improves students’ investment skills through hands-on portfolio management, educational guest speakers, in-depth market analysis, and networking trips to cities such as New York City and Chicago. Today, SIMM has over 20 active members and manages a portfolio of approximately $600,000.
Learn more
China Studies
A unique and intense two-week summer course takes students on a great adventure, a journey to mainland China for the learning experience of a lifetime. You'll visit Beijing, the nation's capital and one of the most populous cities in the world, and Shanghai, known as the Paris of the East.
Learn more at
China Studies.
Annual Mt. Irenaeus Retreat
This annual fall excursion to Mt. Irenaeus, a nearby community of university-affiliated Franciscan friars, underscores our commitment to educating future managers and leaders who incorporate the Franciscan values of individual dignity, inclusiveness, and service to others.
Learn more about
Mt. Irenaeus
Kearns Global Business Forum
The annual Kearns Global Business Forum, presented by Dick Kearns, a 1972 St. Bonaventure grad who has over five decades of experience in global markets, brings industry leaders to campus to underscore the need for today's business students to develop a global mindset.
Learn more about the
Kearns Global Business Forum
Centers for innovation & excellence
A business education extends beyond the classroom at St. Bonaventure, with opportunities to learn from the success of others, and to nurture your own entrepreneurial spirit.
About the School of Business
The dean of the School of Business is Dr. Matrecia S.L. James.
James has had vast experience in higher education and leadership development. Prior to coming to St. Bonaventure in 2016, she was the associate dean of Jacksonville University's Davis College of Business, Jacksonville, Fla., and director of its graduate business program.
She is the founder of Multi-level Sustainable Leadership Consulting, which advises individuals and organizations on developing sustainable leadership skills.
As associate dean at Jacksonville's Davis College of Business, James provided leadership and support of initiatives tied to the overall vision and mission of the college, including:
- collaborating with faculty to promote excellence in teaching and scholarship
- enhancing the availability and use of technology
- promoting international initiatives
- boosting positive relationships among the university and corporate communities
- creating a climate conducive for leadership development among students, faculty and organizational employees
James was also Jacksonville’s director of Leadership Development Portfolios, an electronic platform she designed and maintained for the storage and tracking of graduate leadership development portfolios in order to monitor student progression in portfolio development.
Prior to becoming associate dean, James was an assistant (then associate) professor of management in the Davis College of Business.
In 2009, she MSL Consulting to provide individuals and organizations with the tools, guidance and expertise needed to promote personal growth and development; improve organizational resilience and adaptability;
and enhance overall leadership and sustainability.
James has developed and facilitated a number of leadership development seminars, organizational development practicums and individual enhancement workshops and certificate programs. She is the leadership program designer and primary workshop facilitator for the hallmark “Leadership Matters” program jointly developed by Jacksonville University-Davis College of Business and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce-Jacksonville Women’s Business Center.
From 2001 to 2005, while working on her doctorate, James was a research assistant, teaching assistant and course developer at Florida State. Prior to that she was a business education
teacher from 1996 to 2001 at Grand Ridge School in Marianna, Fla.
James earned her Ph.D. in business administration from Florida State in 2005, majoring in organizational behavior and minoring in human resource development and behavioral dynamics.
She earned her master’s degree in business education (2000) and her bachelor’s degree in business administration (1993) from Florida A&M University; she also
minored in accounting.
Vision
The St. Bonaventure University School of Business seeks to be recognized as the premier Franciscan business school, one that excels in business education, applied scholarship, and impactful engagements with the regional, national, and global communities
in which we live.
Mission
Grounded by Franciscan values, the mission of the St. Bonaventure University School of Business is to develop ethical leaders for the common good and the bottom line. We encourage and support our students' development and growth inside and outside the classroom; contribute to the understanding of effective business and educational practice; and work for the betterment of our communities.
Values
The following Franciscan values are uniquely linked to our Franciscan mission and are incorporated into our curriculum and service learning initiatives.
- Contemplation: To think deeply, to ponder, to meditate, to consider, to study, to plan, to ask “what does it all mean?” is to be a contemplative.
- Love: To learn … not for the sake of accumulating knowledge
alone, but so that knowledge can be applied to the betterment of others.
- Respect: To be a “global village” in which people
of all social classes, races, nations and beliefs live, accept, and attempt to understand and support one another.
- Joy: To believe that the God who made the world is a good God,
that the world and the people in it are good, and that whatever difficulties we face, it’s all going to work out for the best; to look at life through a positive lens.
- Peace: To uncover the injustices which are the roots of hatred
and violence; to prepare ourselves with knowledge, skill and love to promote a better world; to truly be an “instrument” of God’s peace.
- Compassionate Service: To volunteer, to help, to seek
opportunities to be of assistance to others; to give of our time with a sense of humility and a desire to make the world a better place; to see education as a means of being able to serve our fellow human beings.
The School of Business Advisory Council, composed of school alumni, works with the dean, faculty and students in support of the school's vision, mission and values.
Officers:
- Chair: Connie Monteleone Whitton, Class of 1973, president and CEO, Whitton Consulting Group, LLC, Manlius, New York
- Vice Chair: Matthew P. Cullinane, '06, American diplomat, United States Foreign Service, Boyds, Maryland.
Members:
- Erik R. Addington, '91, chief financial officer, ExodusPoint Capital Management, LP, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Paul C. Hilbert, '65, CPA (retired), Onyx Advisors, LLC, Ellicottville, N.Y.
- Laurie R. Krupa, '82, managing director wealth management, Bank of America, Oradell, N.J.
- Mike Lawhead, '15, vice president, portfolio manager at Bank of America Private Bank, New York
- Kevin B. McNamara, '02, chairman, Millington Lockwood Business Interiors, East Amherst, N.Y.
- Lisa Melton, '91, senior vice president of marketing, AAA Northeast, Providence, R.I.
- Sean M. Rickard, '05, director, Mindseeker, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.
- Arthur H. Roberts, '68, VP & director of HR (retired), Eastman Kodak, Rochester, N.Y.
- Richard R. Rynone, '80, president & CEO, Rynone Manufacturing Corp., Waverly, N.Y.
- Julie Sheedy, '90, chief marketing & engagement officer, Loretto, Syracuse, N.Y.
- Mari L. Snyder, '90, director of economic empowerment, SAFE Center for Human Trafficking Survivors, University of Maryland.
- John F. Stitt, '98, president, CMO, KA-BAR Knives, Inc., Olean, N.Y.
May 18, 2025 | Anas Alami, a Business Management major from Brooklyn, New York, and Aahana Kidambi, a Biology major with a Psychology minor from Frederick, Maryland, have been named Ideal Bonaventure Students for the Class of 2025.
May 16, 2025 | Dr. Janhavi Shankar Tripathi, assistant professor of Finance, will present his latest research on the relationship between international trade and economic growth in the era of geoeconomic fragmentation at the 2025 International Trade and Finance Association (ITFA) Conference, May 27-29 at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
May 12, 2025 | Hope — and a door to opportunity held open — brought Anas Alami to St. Bonaventure University four years ago. Today, this once-shy Brooklyn native who navigated the foster care system has been selected as the student speaker for SBU’s 165th Commencement Exercises on May 18.