Liberty introduces new automotive dealership management cognate

• Liberty alumni’s success at Hendrick Automotive Group led to formation of the five-class cognate taught by Hendrick Automotive employees.
• Hands-on cognate allows students to complete internships at Hendrick Automotive and take field trips to a BMV performance center and motor speedway.

 

Last spring, the Liberty University School of Business rolled out a 5-course cognate in automotive dealership management, making it the third university in the United States to offer this specialization to students with plans to go into the automotive industry.

Now, as the program is continuing to expand, students are realizing the value in the specific industry skills that they are obtaining.

Associate Professor of Business and Program Driector Ken Brunson explained that the program idea was born after a Liberty graduate went on to make a big impact in the Atlanta branch of Hendrick Automotive Group. Brandon Apon, who graduated with a business degree in marketing, rose through the ranks as he impressed those around him with his excellent work.

“Brandon just killed it,” Brunson said. “Mr. Hendrick was very impressed with what he saw. Not just in his performance but also his character.”

Brunson also said the impression Apon made on Hendrick caused Hendrick to make a trip to Liberty, resulting in the birth of a car dealership management program. In the summer of 2016, Brunson was asked to work closely with experts in Hendrick Automotive to form the 5-class cognate.

The curriculum is designed to provide applications in balance with the concepts of successfully managing within a dealership. This allows students to get firsthand knowledge from experts with decades of experience within the industry both on the dealership and the manufacturing sides. Brunson explains that students are encouraged to apply for two internships at a local automotive dealership, allowing them to taste each aspect of the business first and then specialize their second year.

Brunson facilitates the classes, but he said they are mostly taught via live video by industry experts.

“We started out to (build) a world class program,” Brunson said. “Using the brain trust of industry experts to deliver the content to our students.”

Upon graduation, students with this cognate will have extensive first-hand experience in each aspect of dealership management, two internship opportunities and a business plan for their “own” dealership someday.

Senior Ian Strommen, who participated in the rollout class in the spring of 2017 and also enrolled in the fall class, said he thinks the program will equip him and other students to be far ahead of other graduates who do not take it.

“What makes this program really special is having experts that are currently in the field giving us their insight and wisdom and knowledge,” Strommen said. “I am constantly taking three pages of notes every time, always asking questions, so, even if I don’t go into the automotive world (or) the business world, I still have plenty of knowledge of how businesses run.”

Another perk to taking the class is the field trips that Hendrick Automotive has facilitated, including a trip to the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina, where the students were allowed to drive eight different BMWs, and a visit to the Lowes Motor Speedway where they watched Liberty student and NASCAR driver William Byron race from Hendrick’s skybox.

The automotive dealership management cognate is also offered to online students. Its first class, Business 370, will take place in the fall 2017 D term. The online program can be completed by students in a business degree as quickly as one year and one term, allowing even juniors to still enroll and complete it in time for their scheduled graduation date.

For more information contact the school of business at schoolofbusiness@liberty.edu.