The BG News

Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Campus

Media Credit: Christina McGinnis Gift of Knowledge: Beta Alpha Psi's Faculty Advisor Phillip Schurrer presents a collection of books to Kamau Mbuthiabio. The books will be sent to different colleges in Kenya.

Students and faculty at the College of Business Administration did not sell their old textbooks. Instead, the books are on their way to Kenya, as a gift to business schools in Africa.

The student business organization Beta Alpha Psi collected 600 books over the course of two weeks, said Ben Schiller, vice president of communications for the organization. For two days during the second week, money was being collected to ship the books. To date, Beta Alpha Psi has collected over $300.

This is the first year this project has been undertaken.

The books were presented last night to biology instructor Kamau Mbuthia by Beta Alpha Psi's faculty advisor Phil Schurrer.

"The libraries [in Kenya] are very weak," Mbuthia said. "These are invaluable resources. It's truly an honor to recieve these books."

Mbuthia said the books will be going to the Kenya Accounting National Exam Board and the Institute of Certified Secretaries of Kenya. They will ultimately help Kenya compete better on an international scale by bringing accounting exams up to date, he said. Mbuthia read excerpts from letters of thanks from both institutions. Schurrer said he was looking for another community service project to recover a lost opportunity when accounting professor Alan Lord brought to attension Kenya's need for business textbooks. Beta Alpha Psi needs two community service projects to keep its "distinguished chapter" status.

Schurrer was very pleased with the success of this project.

"We were kind of building the plane as it flew," he said. "It worked out very, very well."

Monetary donations are still being accepted, Schurrer said. Checks can be written out to the BGSU Foundation and delivered to the Accounting or Management Information Systems Office in room 332 of the Business Administration Building.

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