CSUN'S BIZ-KEPT SECRET BUSINESS COLLEGE, AMONG LARGEST IN U.S., IS BOON TO BOTH STUDENTS, COMMUNITY ASSET: DEAN IS HOPING FOR MORE GROWTH IN PROGRAMS.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox

Staff Writer

It is an unheralded gem in the San Fernando Valley: the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Northridge.

CSUN has 35,000 students, and 6,500 are enrolled in the business and economics college, making it the nation's eighth largest program in 2007, according to the Tampa, Fla.-based Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. It also is home to the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center.

"I always call it the secret of the Valley," said Harvey Bookstein, a partner in the accounting firm RBZ LLP and a 1970 CSUN graduate.

Since graduating from CSUN, Bookstein forged a successful accounting career, forming his own company in 1975. Today, it has 14 partners and 127 employees.

He also gives back to CSUN.

Three years ago, his $1 million donation created the Harvey and Harriet Bookstein Chair in Taxation at the business school and the Bookstein Institute for Higher Education in Taxation.

Students in the program can earn a master of science degree in taxation in 18 months.

It was created to meet the needs of those employed in the field of taxation who might require an advanced degree to achieve their career goals and to excel in their profession.

Graduates are qualified to be professional tax advisers and consultants and to work in the public and private sectors. There are 34 students enrolled in the program.

"We turned away about 40 applicants. We just couldn't take everyone in the first year," Bookstein said.

William Jennings, who served as interim dean for 18 months before getting the job permanently, said his goal is to keep the academic programs moving forward, especially the graduate degrees in business and taxation.

He said there are 250 students enrolled in other graduate business programs.

"I'd probably like to be a little bigger. We'd like to grow those programs over the next three or four years," Jennings said.

He also wants to raise the college's profile beyond the campus. For example, his advisory board consists of 28 members, all involved in businesses around the area. Many are the top executives at their companies, he said.

"We want to improve our ties with the business community, bring more guest speakers from industry into the classroom," Jennings said.

One thing that's already a major asset is the economic research center, run by CSUN economics professor Daniel Blake.

"Dan Blake has done a fabulous job of helping to build it as has Bill Jennings," said Bruce Ackerman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley.

The research the center provides can be a key element in attracting business to the area, he said.

"Their business school, from a practical and academic standpoint, is very well-received," Ackerman said.

That's what attracted Quartz Hill High School graduate Ryan Mallick, who is majoring in finance and film production.

"CSUN has a reputation for a really good film school as well as a business school," he said.

Mallick enrolled at the Northridge campus after two years at College of the Canyons, and he plans to graduate in the fall of 2009.

He will work for a couple of years and then return for graduate school. Mallick also joined the business honors program, which will be reflected on his degree. Participants need a 3.5 grade-point average or higher.

"The classes challenge you a little bit more and try to get you thinking in different ways," he said.

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BY THE NUMBERS

35,000

Students enrolled at California State University, Northridge

6,500

Students enrolled in the College of Business and Economics at CSUN

8th

Where CSUN's College of Business and Economics ranks among the nation's largest programs in 2007, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) William Jennings, dean of the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Northridge, aims to continue to grow the academic programs, especially the graduate degrees in business and taxation. He also wants to raise the college's profile.

(2 -- color) Juniper Hall, which features an open-air quad, houses courses in business law, accounting and management information systems, marketing, economics, finance and systems and operation management.

(3 -- color) Senior Chris Ahn, 24, has his laptop ready while in Jim Dow's standing-room-only Finance 303 class in the College of Business and Economics. The Financial Management course is one of the upper-division classes required to obtain a minor in business.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Box:

BY THE NUMBERS (see text)