Newswise — Babson College and The Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Entrepreneurship Consortium will hold a Spring Collaborative Summit at Babson on Wednesday, April 27th, 2005. The Consortium is the first ever academic program to focus on black entrepreneurship.
Research shows that while blacks are twice as likely as whites to start a business, black-owned businesses have been among the least likely to grow or survive due to a lack of educational and support programs that focus on black entrepreneurship. The difficulty this community faces in creating wealth through entrepreneurship, a driver of economic growth, has further promoted socioeconomic disparities.
Recognizing these disparities, the Babson/HBCU Entrepreneurship Consortium is developing case studies and other curricular materials focused on black entrepreneurs. The efforts of this Consortium will ultimately help close the wealth gap and promote social reconstruction for the black community.
"Entrepreneurship is on the increase in the black community, yet there are very few business cases written on these entrepreneurs," says Stephen Spinelli, Jr., Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship, Director, Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College, and co-director of the Consortium's program. Spinelli is also an entrepreneur, as co-founder of Jiffy Lube International.
The Consortium has made significant progress in the creation of educational tools to improve the quality, quantity, and longevity of black entrepreneurship. Says Spinelli, "Our research and teachings will help us to better understand how to create and sustain minority entrepreneurship enterprises."
During the Summit, Spinelli will demonstrate the case teaching method using the Consortium member case of Eric Johnson, entrepreneur and CEO of Baldwin/Richardson Foods which manufactures sauces, toppings, and syrups for the retail and foodservice industries. Johnson will also address and field questions from Summit participants.
Additionally, the Summit will:
Showcase completed and in-progress case studies; Demonstrate and discuss how to effectively teach case studies; Provide a Case Writing Workshop for current and future case writers;Through its efforts, the Consortium also works to encourage faculty and student collaboration on its research agenda and to promote open dialogue for further development and growth. The following schools are currently involved with the Consortium:
Clark Atlanta University Fayetteville State UniversityGrambling State UniversityJackson State UniversityMorehouse CollegeNorth Carolina A&TPrairie View A&MSouthern UniversitySpelman CollegeTennessee State University
The Babson/Historically Black Colleges and Universities Entrepreneurship Consortium is a partnership funded by the Ewing MarionKauffman Foundation and Ford Motor Company. Its mission is to improve the quality, quantity, and longevity of black entrepreneurship by changing the dynamics of entrepreneurship education.
Babson College has been ranked first in entrepreneurship education for 12 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report magazine and is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit http://www.babson.edu.
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