From South Jersey to South Africa: Rutgers-Camden Offers Course on Doing Good Business and a World of Good

CAMDEN –Joanne Black of Willingboro and Fikile Magubane, the South African Consul General of New York, both discovered online something special at Rutgers–Camden: a course on doing business in the nation set to host the World Cup of Soccer this June.

“I was looking through the Rutgers–Camden business school site and saw the course listing. I thought ‘I have to go.’ I had not officially made my decision to attend Rutgers at that point. The South Africa course was the deciding factor,” says Black, now a Rutgers–Camden undergraduate student. 

Black is among 20 undergraduate and MBA students, from those looking to launch their careers to those managing multimillion-dollar portfolios, enrolled in the Rutgers business course, which includes a 12-day trip to South Africa during Spring Break.

Magubane, charged with building relationships and fostering U.S. investment in South Africa, visited the Rutgers–Camden class taught by Julie Ruth, an associate professor of marketing at the Rutgers School of Business—Camden. Ruth, whose ties to South Africa include visits to the nation as well as a charitable organization she organized to help fund the lunches for hundreds of elementary school students there, fielded Magubane’s call for the special visit.

“There’s not a student in the course who has travelled to South Africa before. The Consul General is the first person they met from the nation. What an introduction to the country’s people,” exclaims Ruth, who studies subsistence consumer markets in emerging nations. South Africa, she points out, represents an ideal foray into the study of a business idea now gaining traction. “The triple bottom line advances people and the planet, while still generating profit,” Ruth notes.

The Rutgers–Camden professor’s enthusiasm for South Africa is what motivated Laura Morrison of Woodbury to enroll in the course. “Dr. Ruth is among my favorite faculty members and her passion for the people and culture of South Africa inspired me to learn more,” notes Morrison. “I also hope to get a better understanding of international business, especially the opportunities that exist to help change struggling economies into emerging economies.”

But South Africa’s inspiring locales and possibilities for growth are far from new discoveries to numerous individuals at Rutgers–Camden.  Rory “Cal” Maradonna, former Rutgers–Camden dean of students and a current part-time lecturer at the business school, has led Rutgers study tours to South Africa for the last 15 years.  His longtime experience with this international study program makes him the ideal person to schedule this year’s business course trip, and two other Rutgers–Camden groups’ travel itineraries: a law school contingency and a community outreach effort. Past South Africa international courses have incorporated study in photography; sociology; and literature.

“I actually plan the trip and meetings. Instructors will give me the places they’d like to visit, from big businesses to small businesses, to locations important to a work of literature,” notes Maradonna, a resident of Cinnaminson.

Poignant destinations visited each year include the townships where people lived under apartheid and elementary schools where books and supplies, collected and transported by Rutgers–Camden students, are donated.

“We go in to help the community and they’re so proud of the progress they’ve made,” says Maradonna, who notes that in his time of visiting the townships he has seen what were once shacks evolve into two-story apartment-style dwellings that do not hinder one of the best views of Table Mountain in Cape Town. Ruth’s charity also funds outings to Table Mountain for local schoolchildren, who live near the natural wonder they typically can’t afford to visit.

Customizing the South Africa trips has certainly been worthwhile in not only making a difference in the nation, but impacting the lives of Rutgers–Camden travelers.

“Every year there’s a story. People who have met on the trip have gotten married, and then return to South Africa for their honeymoon. They’ve started businesses. There are a million stories,” Maradonna adds. A reunion for former travelers to the South Africa trip yielded some 100 people, even one person who returned to New Jersey from Puerto Rico, and a Rutgers South Africa Facebook group has cultivated nearly 300 people.

“I understand why the trip can be life-changing,” notes Maradonna. “It’s the kind of learning experience that students could never go online and book themselves.”