May 28, 2008

Business college establishes group on 'LinkedIn'

by Sun Min

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale's College of Business and Administration is now LinkedIn. Alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and friends of the college are invited to join the college's group on LinkedIn, the world's largest online professional network.

To join, visit http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/93159/3926F75E1CCC.

Currently, more than 20 million professionals are on LinkedIn, including executives from all of the Fortune 500 companies.

"We are now giving our alumni and friends instant access to a rich network of professionals who want to connect with other professionals. The common thread uniting them is SIU College of Business, a proud institution with an honorable history and an exciting future," said J. Dennis Cradit, dean of SIUC College of Business and Administration.

"LinkedIn is an effective tool for our alumni to keep in touch with each other," said Donna Margolis, director of the Business Placement Center.

LinkedIn allows professionals to reach out to colleagues -- free of charge, on their own terms and on their own time. From CEOs to those just entering the workforce, more than 150,000 executives sign up to LinkedIn every day.

Under Cradit's leadership, SIUC's College of Business and Administration has built a strong web presence and many have taken notice. Media outlets reported on the college's use of YouTube.com to market a promotional video and recently BizEd, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International magazine, profiled the college's use of facebook.com to reach students. Assistant Professor of Marketing David Campbell was interviewed for the magazine, which is read by business educators worldwide.

Cradit, Campbell, Margolis, Associate Director of the Business Placement Center Matt Purdy, Digital Media Systems Specialist Lynne Westra and Chief Marketing Officer Sun Min launched the college's online efforts, which also include a presence on Wikipedia.org and Flickr.com.