Duquesne is committed to helping students develop their ability to work collaboratively with others to build a more just and equitable world.  In the Business School, students are engaged in community-based experiences that put the knowledge, skills and values learned in their majors into action.

Extending the classroom into the community
Dr. Kathryn Marley, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management, created a unique opportunity for students in her Supply Chain Process Improvement class to work on a project with the Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh (BVRS).  This organization empowers people who are blind or vision impaired to become independent through employment opportunities.

In collaboration with other faculty members, Kathryn designed this experiential course so that all students would earn a Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certificate.  Those holding this certificate have mastered skills that include process improvement, project facilitation and data collection.

Nearly 50 students, assigned to small groups, worked with BVRS employees and the executive management team to develop better supply chain processes for manufacturing road signs.  The groups tackled issues related to the shipping process, textile production and sign production.  At the end of the project, students presented their findings and recommendations to the BVRS management team.  In doing so, they offered BVRS a variety of best practices for speeding up sign production while maintaining efficiency and streamlining shipping procedures.

Making a real difference
Students were thrilled that the BVRS management team immediately implemented some of their recommendations while studying others for future implementation.  Some of the other suggestions will require a longer implementation period.  Overall, BVRS was very pleased with students’ recommendations and places great value on its relationship with Duquesne.

According to Kathryn, “Students are able to talk about opportunities like this in an interview. Employers value this experience and it helps students build self-confidence.  The students not only learned theories, but they also applied the concepts to better meet customer expectations and bottom-line objectives of the organization.  Most importantly, the students contributed to helping people with vision loss find their way to independence.”

“This project was great! We solved real-world problems.  We brainstormed and used all the tools we learned about in class to make these improvements,” says Alex Ulatowski (B’18).  “I am grateful for the experience and the support of BVRS in helping prepare me for working with others in the future.  I feel like I made a real difference,” says David Haus (B’18).