CIE Expands, Gets Over $850,000 in External Funds

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Jan. 6, 2010 -- Six months after being established, the new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at Southeast Missouri State University is expanding.

The Center was established July 1 to leverage the resources and capabilities of several internal entities and programs that separately supported the University’s strategic priority to advance the region’s economic appeal and strength. As a result of the reorganization, the CIE, located in the Southeast Innovation Center, brings together programs provided through the Small Business & Technology Development Center, the Missouri Research Corporation, and the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. The reorganization led to several new assignments for existing staff while additional external funding of more than $850,000 has allowed the CIE to hire three new employees to support several new programs.

The CIE is now one of the most comprehensive entrepreneurship-focused university centers in the Midwest, offering a vast array of academic and outreach programs and services including entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship training, community development, innovation development and research, business incubation, and counseling for existing businesses and business start-ups.

The two latter services are available through the Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC). Russell Humphrey was recently named the director of the SBTDC.  Humphrey replaced Bill Vickery, who vacated the position to accept an assignment with the U.S. Small Business Administration. 

Humphrey brings valuable experience to the position as a former entrepreneur, sales professional, and business counselor and is proud of the services offered through the SBTDC and CIE.

“This center helps hundreds of individuals every year who own a small business or have the dream to work for themselves," he said. "This is a very rewarding place to work.” 

Humphrey’s claims are supported by Ingram’s Magazine that recently ranked the Southeast SBTDC as fifth in the state among all SBTDCs in number of clients served and third in number of attendees trained in fiscal year 2008. These rankings were accomplished despite the fact that the Southeast SBTDC has a smaller staff than most of its peers.  The SBTDC serves 19 counties in southeast Missouri. 

The CIE is also pleased to announce receipt of several external grants that are providing resources for several new programs that began during the fourth quarter of 2009. The Southeast Missouri WIRED initiative awarded the CIE $182,754 to advance entrepreneurship education through a new program titled Building Entrepreneurial Skills Today (BEST) For Tomorrow’s Leaders.  BEST is an initiative to incorporate entrepreneurial education and activities in high schools to inspire young people to embrace creativity and innovation, and provide them the skills to create and launch a new venture.  In 2008, WIRED funded the start-up phase, called Missouri REAL Entrepreneurship. The new funding will expand the program by offering professional development workshops for teachers in the 14-county WIRED region and by developing a customized entrepreneurship curriculum for high school students.

Sandra Cabot of Ste. Genevieve, Mo., was hired as the program coordinator.  Sandra brings a strong background in training, program development and implementation, and entrepreneurship experience to the position.  Since 2007, Cabot served as a trainer for the CIE’s Operation Jump-Start entrepreneurship training program.

“I am very excited about working on this initiative to encourage entrepreneurial thinking and leadership skills at the high school level,” Cabot stated.  “Entrepreneurial skills really encompass a wide variety of disciplines and we want the new curriculum to be inspirational and interactive while also meeting the program’s educational objectives.”

The CIE also recently received a $500,000 Congressional grant funded by the U. S. Small Business Administration to stimulate economic development in distressed rural communities throughout the region. The funding provided development of the Revitalizing Rural Communities Initiative (RRCI), which will provide four different rural communities each year for the next three years training and assistance to develop concepts and plans for new ventures that will stimulate local economic growth. The program will bring together high school students, aspiring entrepreneurs, and local community and business leaders. Susan Sterling was hired as an assistant to help coordinate activities of RRCI and provide administrative support to the project team.

Sterling, a native of Jackson, Mo., said, “Part of the RRCI program is helping communities become more entrepreneur-friendly. This is important because entrepreneurs need an opportunity to develop and become financially independent by being able to own their own businesses.”

The CIE received two additional grants from the Southeast Missouri WIRED initiative totaling $163,756 to provide entrepreneurship training through two new programs; Vocational Specific Regional Entrepreneurship Training (VSRET), and Cultivating Alternative Agriculture. 

VSRET will allow technical school educators to integrate entrepreneurship training near the end of technical programs so that graduates have the option of starting their own business if they cannot find employment or choose self-employment. The Cultivating Alternative Agriculture program will offer entrepreneurship training and agricultural technique consultation to individuals seeking to utilize their own land to produce small, profitable alternative crops. Dr. Paul Schnare, a local entrepreneur and a member of the Southeast Department of Agriculture faculty will help with implementation of both VSRET and Cultivating Alternative Agriculture. 

The Southeast Innovation Center not only houses the CIE, it is home to a business incubator with a variety of business clients and Southeast’s Regional Professional Development Center. Torie Cox was recently hired as a senior administrative assistant to provide building coordination and reception for the Southeast Innovation Center and to assist the new Executive Director of the CIE, Dr. James Stapleton.  Cox is a 2008 Southeast graduate, majoring in mass communication – public relations.  She said of her appointment, “I enjoy the people I work with, and I believe in the vision that we are working toward.”

Stapleton was appointed executive director of this emerging center on July 1 and brings considerable experience and passion to the position as a former entrepreneur and as an entrepreneurship educator. He previously directed the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Southeast and was instrumental in developing a variety of new courses and co-curricular programs, which led to substantial increases in enrollment and participation in entrepreneurship activities across campus.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with University administration and the wonderful staff of the CIE as we broaden the impact of our programs on the regional economy,” Stapleton said. “The reorganization of the CIE allows us to leverage the collective resources and capabilities within our increasingly diverse academic and community outreach programs to improve the quality of lives, communities, and businesses in southeast Missouri and our surrounding region. Perhaps more than ever, it is critical for our students, citizens, businesses, and communities to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset in order to maintain a high standard of living in the increasingly competitive global economy,” he added.

Stapleton is a member of the faculty of the Harrison College of Business in the Department of Marketing and Management and continues to teach entrepreneurship courses.