PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Peirce College, Philadelphia’s leading private, non-profit, four-year accredited institution for working adult learners, announced the appointment of Michael Schirmer as Faculty Chair of Business. Schirmer will oversee the College’s business degree programs, which include Accounting, Human Resource Management and Business Administration.
Established in 1865 to help returning Civil War veterans develop their business skills, Peirce is one of the first business schools established in the United States. The College’s curriculum is one hundred percent focused on career-related studies and its Business Administration programs continues to represent a large percentage of the institution’s portfolio.
One of Schirmer’s stated goals is to develop Business Administration into a signature program. The College is already well positioned to do so: a 2010-2011 Philadelphia Business Journal study of business school enrollment in the region ranks Peirce #7, ahead of many larger institutions.
According to Patricia A. Rucker, Ed.D., Peirce Senior Vice President, Academic Advancement & Provost, “Peirce has the pedigree. We have a sterling history of business and professional education. We want to continue to grow and advance our business programs. Michael Schirmer’s role is to build on our legacy and make Peirce’s business programs a cornerstone, from an educational perspective, for the Philadelphia region,” Rucker said.
Schirmer’s professional and academic experience spans businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to larger organizations. He brings the technical and soft skills that employers in the Philadelphia area look for in a changing marketplace.
“Many of our students come to Peirce to ‘retool’ -- to prepare themselves for employment in another field. I tell them that, although they made a difficult choice to return to school, they made the right decision in choosing education as a way to transform themselves and build a new knowledge set, a new skill set, in order to be successful in the new, post-recession economy,” said Schirmer, who frequently speaks with students starting their own businesses.
Schirmer emphasized that, in terms of academic research and business education, this is an exciting time. “Our faculty continually stays on top of what is happening. We want to be proactive and understand what the drivers are in our business as an educational institution and to ensure we continually improve our performance,” he said.
“You are going to see good things from Michael Schirmer. He is passionate about the role that Peirce plays in the higher education landscape of Philadelphia and is looking forward to taking it to the next level,” Rucker said.
About Peirce College
Peirce College offers bachelor’s and associate degree programs in the areas of Business, Healthcare, Information Technology and Legal Studies. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, Peirce is a non-profit institution that specializes in serving the unique needs of working adults, many of whom work full time and are raising families. In response to the changing demands of the economy and the prospect for future jobs in the Philadelphia market, Peirce recently introduced additional degree programs in Healthcare, Human Resource Management, Accounting, and Criminal Justice. Peirce College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104 (phone: 267-284-5000). The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs accredits the College's Business Administration program and the Paralegal Studies program is approved by the American Bar Association.
For more information about Peirce College, call 888.GO.PEIRCE, or visit www.peirce.edu.
Visit Peirce’s blog, Peirce Connections, at http://blog.peirce.edu.
Become a fan of Peirce on Facebook.
Follow @PeirceCollege on Twitter.
View the Peirce YouTube Channel.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50194054&lang=en