Schools stressing interaction with business leaders
BYLINE: KIMBERLY BONVISSUTO
Experiential education. It's a phrase many business schools are using to describe the interaction of students with community business owners.
That type of interaction is becoming more common as colleges, like Lorain County Community College and its new Entrepreneurship Innovation Center, continue to establish programs that help small businesses launch and develop.
According to the Missouri-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, more than 300 four-year institutions now offer courses in entrepreneurship for those not necessarily enrolled in the business school.
``Higher education plays an integral role in a community's economic development,'' said Marcia Ballinger, LCCC's vice president for strategic and institutional development.
In Northeast Ohio, many colleges have stretched beyond traditional academic programs, offering hands-on help to the business community as well as centers and incubators in which to develop and foster new ventures.
For example, the Key Entrepreneur Development Center of Corporate College, a division of Cuyahoga Community College, offers entrepreneurs access to all the amenities afforded big business - conference halls, state-of-the-art technology, catering service, meeting planners and work space.
``We have people who run their businesses out of the center,'' said Ann Hach, director of the center. ``It's more professional than the Starbucks. When you're tired of working out of the coffee shop, come to the Key center.''
Corporate College East in Warrensville Heights and Corporate College West in Westlake also offer 1,800 classes and programs ranging from leadership and professional education to software training.
The Key center, which currently has 250 registered users and is located at both Corporate College sites, was established in 2005 through a $1 million grant from the Key Foundation.
``For many years I envisioned a place that would be a business clubhouse. Businesses and business people grow and are enriched from casual contact,'' Ms. Hach said. ``If you talk to home-based business owners, the one thing they suffer from is claustrophobia of your kitchen. This is a place where businesses and business people and entrepreneurs can come and do business and be as private - or not private - as they feel.''
At Kent State University, the College of Business Administration and Graduate School of Management are in the process of creating the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation. The goal of the program is to serve as a hub for a variety of education and research initiatives for students, faculty and the entrepreneurial community.
While not all of the components of the center are in place, several are under way. The Entrepreneurial Lab provides student consulting teams to assist start-ups, family businesses and entrepreneurs with market research, data acquisition and business planning under the guidance of an entrepreneur-in-residence, according to center director Julie Messing.
The college is seeking to create a $12 million to $15 million endowment to support the center.
Another unique aspect of the KSU entrepreneurial program is the creation of a ``living learning'' community for entrepreneurs. Incoming students live in a residence hall with other budding entrepreneurs, taking classes and participating in planned activities.
``The philosophy behind our program is to fully immerse students in entrepreneurship until the moment they graduate,'' Ms. Messing said. ``We're building the pieces, one or two at a time.''
Other examples of college entrepreneurial outreach programs include:
* Baldwin-Wallace College Business Clinic, which is part of the Center for Innovation and Growth, is an outreach program for small business owners. Undergraduate and graduate student consultants team with executive volunteers to offer business owners support and resources.
* John Carroll University's Entrepreneurs Association is part of the university's Edward M. Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship. The Muldoon Center, established in 1999, is an educational, networking and consulting resource for entrepreneurs and owners of privately held businesses. It is housed in the John and Mary Jo Boler School of Business.
* The University of Akron's William and Rita Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies was launched in 1996 with a $2.5 million grant. The institute is located within the College of Business Administration. Students work with venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and other industry leaders through community outreach programs.
Costs for accessing these college-based entrepreneurial services range from a $100 annual fee for access to Corporate College's physical space to volunteered time with students.