University Entrepreneurship Conference March 23-27

By Lanita Withers Goins, University Relations

Contact: (336) 334-3890

Posted 3-12-09

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Universities teach students to be creative and innovative, cultivating entrepreneurial skills that will benefit alumni well after graduation.

But how good are institutions at practicing what they teach?

UNCG will host the 21st Century Entrepreneurial University March 23-27, a conference designed to assess the progress of entrepreneurship in higher education and ways to cultivate more innovation.

Key events, which are open to the public at no charge, include:

• A showcase of inventions by UNCG students, faculty and staff, to exhibit how the university leverages their ideas for the economic benefit of the region. The invention showcase will be held at 2 p.m., Monday, March 23, in the Alexander Room of the Elliott University Center.

• A keynote address by Dr. Charles Wessner, the director of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship at the U.S. National Academies, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, in the Mead Auditorium of the Sullivan Science Building. Wessner will speak on the importance of two programs – the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Technology Innovation Program – in promoting regional economic growth.

• Dr. John Hardin, the acting executive director of the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology, will give a talk on the “green economy,” its potential for creating jobs for North Carolina and what the state can do to lead the way. Hardin, whose office runs the North Carolina Green Business Fund, will speak at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the Maple Room of the Elliott University Center.

• Dr. Sean Safford will speak on the need to tailor public policies and programming to specific industries to spur regional growth and development. Safford, an assistant professor of organizations and strategy at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, will speak 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 27, in Bryan Building, Room 105.

The 21st Century Entrepreneurial University conference is an extension of UNCG’s commitment to entrepreneurial education. It’s sponsored by the BELL (Building Entrepreneurial Learning for Life) Program, which UNCG launched in the fall of 2007. BELL is a program designed to fuel entrepreneurial spirit and ability throughout campus.

For more information on the entrepreneurship conference or the BELL program, contact Jessica Beamon, BELL program coordinator, at jabeamon@uncg.edu or (336) 334-9701.