Executive Master of Business Administration
School of Business MBA Scholarship
Working as a manager of unified operations at Blackbaud
More than a decade after graduating as part of the inaugural Computing in the Arts class, Matt Cruse ’12 (EMBA ’26) returned to the College of Charleston to join the first Executive MBA cohort.
Today, Cruse serves as manager of unified operations at Blackbaud. While his career ultimately took him into IT operations leadership, he traces much of his professional foundation back to his undergraduate experience.
“That degree was a great marriage of a few paths in my life that finally converged,” he says. “When I arrived at the College, I worked in the theatre program, mostly in set design and construction, but I’d always loved computers and technology, too. Computing in the Arts sat right at that intersection of design and technical work, which I found compelling.”
The combination of technical knowledge and creative problem-solving he developed through his undergraduate program served him well. As his responsibilities grew, he recognized an opportunity to strengthen his understanding of business strategy, finance and organizational leadership.
Initially, Cruse struggled to find an MBA program that was the right fit until he came across a LinkedIn post announcing the College’s new EMBA program from Seaton Brown ’09, executive director of graduate admissions and marketing.
“An 18-month, cohort-based, hybrid program checked almost every box I had,” he says. “There was a personal layer to it, too. I’d known Seaton since my first week on campus as an undergraduate when he was a student worker. I also loved the idea of returning to my alma mater for a second inaugural degree.”
For Cruse, one of the most meaningful aspects of the program was the cohort experience.
“Learning as an adult alongside cohort-mates who were all working professionals was unlike anything I’d encountered before, with real mutual respect and, more than that, a sense of co-creation as peers,” he says. “That’s not something you can replicate any other way.”
The recipient of the School of Business MBA Scholarship received both the Excellence in Experiential Learning Award and the Outstanding Student Award during his time in the program and credits the faculty with shaping his experience. “I learned an enormous amount from all of them, professionally and personally,” says Cruse.
Cruse plans to continue in his current role, applying lessons from the classroom to operational leadership and organizational transformation. The program broadened his perspective and strengthened his ability to communicate across business contexts and engage with different areas of the organization.
“I firmly believe that several of the opportunities I’ve been lucky enough to have over the last six to nine months are a direct result of pursuing this degree,” he says.