By the numbers
$44,800: The annual earning for a Wittenberg University alum in the beginning of their career.
$85,800: The annual earnings for a Wittenberg alum in the middle of their career
$120,000: The annual earnings for a Wittenberg business school alum in the middle of their career.
Source: PayScale Inc.
Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has closely tracked the efforts of Wittenberg University — a major Springfield employer — to improve its financial condition, including stories digging into cuts at the school, increasing enrollment and new programs designed to attract more students.
Wittenberg University — one of Springfield’s major employers — has been named one of the best business schools in the U.S. for high-earning alumni.
The Springfield liberal arts school has built up its business programs in recent years as part of its effort to be competitive and attract more students as it faces major financial concerns.
PayScale Inc. listed Wittenberg in its top 10 list for business schools whose alumni earn the highest salary in mid-career median earnings. Alumni from the business program make around $120,000 a year during that span of their career, according to the survey.
>>RELATED: Record freshman class, giving follows hard year at Wittenberg
Wittenberg has about 475 employees and an estimated $70 million economic impact on Springfield.
Diversity is a strength at Wittenberg’s business school and part of its liberal arts tradition, said Tom Kaplan, dean of its School of Community Education.
“There are a lot of pathways to be successful and that’s the point,” Kaplan said. “Diversity is not an annoyance, it makes everything better.”
Joining the Springfield school on the list are some big name schools, including Georgetown University and Notre Dame.
“If you look down that list, there are several schools that do a fantastic job at getting people who are really interested in getting uber rich and being super successful in business and making a lot of money,” Kaplan said. “Wittenberg has never marketed itself like that. That’s the wonderful thing about the school.”
Kaplan said the liberal arts roots of the school play a big role in the education business majors get. The ranking comes following budget concerns at the school, which have prompted projected cuts as high as 11 percent to the school’s budget.
Education leaders have said they want to make sure Wittenberg is competitive in higher education and offers degrees that will translate into monetary success along with philanthropy. The number of applications for the school and freshmen enrollment is up compared to previous years.
>>READ MORE: Wittenberg receives $3.9M in federal tax credits for renovation
Sara Auble is one of those freshmen and plans to major in business. She said she was attracted by the school’s focus on community when deciding where to pursue her education.
“The motto ‘Having light, we pass it on to others’ really stuck with me and it feels like home,’ Auble said.
She hopes to help run her family’s business when she graduates.
Andrew Boeres is another freshman hoping to major in business. He said he believes the faculty at Wittenberg work with students to make sure they succeed and described it as a friendly campus.
“The teachers care for the students,” Boeres said. “It’s a really good ratio of teachers and students.
Wittenberg’s high ranking as a business school means a lot, he said.
“It is very assuring and promising and it makes me appreciate what I have in front of me,” Boeres said. “There are a lot of other schools that don’t have those numbers and that is very valuable to me.”
The success of the business school is in large part because of committed teachers and the students, Associate Professor and Chairwoman of the Department of Business Wendy Gradwohl said.
“They are good students; they work hard; they have good attitudes; they are respectful and they have a civic focus,” she said. “It’s not all about just the money, it’s not just about capitalism — it’s also about giving back.”
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