Cornwall Quoted by USA Today
Dr. Jeff Cornwall, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, was quoted this week in a USA Today article titled “Gen Y grads more likely to launch start-ups.” Click here to read the story.
Students Win Big at Collegiate DECA International Conference
Belmont students showed their business and leadership skills with their best ever performance at the 2012 Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference, which was held April 21-24 in Salt Lake City. Twenty-nine Belmont students competed in nine events at the international competition, with 25 of the Belmont participants reaching the finals in their respective events, a phenomenal accomplishment given the more than 1,200 students overall who competed. Belmont students swept the Entrepreneurial Challenge category and placed first in two of the nine events.
Harris Wins Annual Business Plan Competition
Five teams of undergraduate students competed in the annual Belmont Student Business Plan Competition sponsored by Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. The event was held on March 16 in the Massey Boardroom. Senior Jerell Harris won first place and earned $5,000 and the title of “Outstanding Student Entrepreneur of the Year” for his business plan for QuickMed, a medical waste management company whose primary service consists of collecting, transporting, and processing medical waste.
“The entrepreneurship program has helped me tremendously. I have learned how to listen to complaints within a market and develop products or services based on those criticisms. In addition, the course has taught me how to make necessary pivotal steps that will help my reach my growth targets. Above all, I have learned how to manage my company as it goes through various life cycles,” said Harris, who is studying entrepreneurship.
Jonathan Murrell and Moriah Nogoy took second place and $2,000 for their Candy Galaxy business plan. Julia Cecere earned $1,000 for Cool Candy & Beverage Company. Other finalists included George Livingston and Ian Raffalovich for Sweet Meat Jerky, Seth Whiting for Map My Views and Michelle Keil for Nava Salon. Each of the entries was for a real business venture that is currently operating or that is in the planning stages to be launched. Numerous students submitted written plans and the top six were given the opportunity to present their ideas to a committee of judges consisting of Belmont Entrepreneurship Alums and business leaders from the Nashville community.
“This was by far the most competitive group of applications and finalists for the presentation that we have ever had in this event. The outside judges were blown away by the work our students are doing,” said Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Jeff Cornwall.
College of Business Administration Maintains Prestigious AACSB Accreditation
The College of Business Administration at Belmont University is proud to announce maintenance of business and specialized accounting accreditation by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in business and accounting.
Dean of the College of Business Administration Dr. Pat Raines said, “Belmont’s AACSB International accreditation sends a message to students, parents, faculty, employers and other schools that Belmont has one of the best business schools in the world. Only 178 institutions worldwide have earned AACSB accreditation for both their business and accounting programs. Maintaining this accreditation demonstrates that Belmont’s business and accounting programs are performing at the highest levels of quality, rigor and relevance.”
Belmont is part of an elite group of institutions—less than five percent of the world’s business schools—to have achieved business accreditation from AACSB International. Even more impressive, less than one percent of institutions have achieved both business and accounting accreditation.
SIFE Team Wins Seventh Regional Title
For the seventh year in a row, Belmont Students in Free Enterprise team won the regional competition in its league and will be moving on to the National Exposition in Kansas City May 22-24. The event was one of 11 throughout the United States held in March and April.
Students Katherine Richardson, Eric Taft, Hilary Hambrick, Ayesha Ghaffar, Brennon Mobley, Michael Kattman, Andrew Bishop, Kelsey Bright and Rami Nofal played instrumental roles as presenters and/or project leaders this year in the fashionABLE, Spring Back, Be a Blessing and Philanthroteach projects.
SIFE is an international organization that mobilizes students around the world to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders.
U.S. Bank Chairman Shares Views on Ethics at Belmont
Richard K. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer of U.S. Bank shared his views on the importance of regulating ethical business behavior with Belmont students, faculty and Nashville business leaders on Monday, March 26.
Davis began his campus visit with a convocation lecture titled “Business Ethics & Responsible Banking Today” presented to students in Beaman A&B.
“Ethics can be learned now. What I can’t drill into your head is when a lot of people are doing little things wrong, you will want to draw the line on when it will end. You can draw the line in the sand now that you will adhere to as you begin practicing business,” he said.
Davis emphasized the need to create a business culture with consistent values and regular audits as the cornerstone to long-term success. He encouraged government regulation on ethical business practices, such as shareholder access and whistleblower incentives to promote honesty, integrity and transparency. He also summarized the evolution of corporate responsibility from 1919 to the present.
“Making money is not a bad thing, because capitalism is what got America where it is today, as long as you do it the right way with honesty,” Davis said.
SIFE Finalist For 2012 Strobel Award
Belmont University Students in Free Enterprise are 18 among finalists for the 26th annual Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards.
SIFE is up for the Civic Volunteer Group Award, which recognizes representatives of civic, membership, congregation or non-corporate groups that volunteer together for a cause. Belmont SIFE works with local, national and international community partners to develop ethical and environmentally sustainable business models that create lasting economic and social change. Now in its seventh year of existence, Belmont SIFE has more than 40 students involved and has partnered with numerous Nashville organizations, including 147 Million Orphans, African Leadership and Magdalene/Thistle Farms.
Oasis Center – Middle School Teen Outreach Program and The Patient and Family Advisory Councils at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are the other finalists for the category. Hands On Nashville will announced the winners of six categories for outstanding volunteer in Middle Tennessee ceremony at the Marriott Cool Springs Conference Center in Franklin on April 10.
HCA/TriStar are presenters of the annual event, founded by Ford Motor Company. Some 105 individuals and organizations were nominated this year for the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards.
The Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards are named in memory of the late Mary Catherine Strobel, known for her extensive and charitable efforts toward improving the lives of Middle Tennessee’s homeless, impoverished and less fortunate populations. The annual awards ceremony celebrates Strobel’s service and recognizes those who continue her legacy.
Schenkel Honored with Entrepreneurship Award
Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship Mark Schenkel recently received the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) President’s Award for Outstanding Service. The plaque is in recognition for his outstanding leadership and service serving as senior vice president of operations and planning on the USASBE Board of Directors. The award was presented on Jan. 15 during the 26th annual USASBE conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. USASBE is the largest independent academic organization in the world dedicated to advancing the discipline of entrepreneurship.
Acuff Details ’5 Lies’ Entrepreneurs Should Ignore for Success
Jon Acuff, best-selling author of Stuff Christians Like, spoke last week in the Massey Board Room about the five lies every entrepreneur must ignore in order to succeed. An experienced speaker and the creator of StuffChristiansLike.net, a blog read by more than two million people in 97 percent of the countries in the world, Acuff has worked with companies like Home Depot, Chick-fil-A, Bose and Staples on their brand positioning and marketing.
In a talk sponsored by Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Acuff spoke on “5 Lies Every Entrepreneur Must Ignore to Succeed,” captivating a completely packed room of hopeful Belmont students and faculty by delivering his powerful message with a lighthearted and slightly comical spin.
He began by emphasizing the fact that technology and social media have completely redefined our generation’s standards and opportunities among the business realm. Acuff claimed that “consumer behavior has changed” because “our generation is the most over-marketed” generation in comparison to ever before.
The exorbitant amount of information that technology offers allows consumers to research and become aware of nearly anything, and they desire truth in marketing. Acuff brought up an example of change in comparing Nike’s marketing slogan years ago versus now to illustrate this point of truth in marketing. At one point, Nike’s marketing campaign was “Be Like Mike” which inferred to the consumer that by wearing Air Jordan shoes one could be like Michael Jordan. Now Nike’s marketing campaign is “Our shoes work if you do.” This pointed example prefaced Acuff’s message of entrepreneurs being mindful of the lies that can often detour one’s success.
SIFE Students Start ‘Spring Back’ Business to Recycle Mattresses, Create Jobs
In partnership with the Isaiah 58 ministry at Belmont Church, the Belmont University Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team is making a difference in the lives of a group of Nashville’s homeless and formerly incarcerated via a rather unusual means—recycling mattresses.
The non-profit, Spring Back Recycling, launched “Spring Back Nashville” just over six months ago and already more than 1,700 mattresses have been disassembled and recycled. The Belmont SIFE students spent a full year developing the business model for Spring Back, analyzing operations, accounting, marketing, legal contracts and safety procedures. Belmont Church’s Isaiah 58 ministry thereafter partnered with the team, providing an available facility, equipment, as well as an eager and capable workforce for the start-up business. Isaiah 58’s School of Life ministry is a residential program that helps formerly incarcerated men get back on their feet. With Spring Back Nashville, the men are disassembling old mattresses into scrap metal, cotton and foam—more than 85 percent of each mattress can be fully recycled.
Dr. John Gonas, associate professor of finance and SIFE advisor at Belmont, said, “I’m amazed that the Belmont students have created such a sustainable, scalable and economically viable business that blesses the community with a solid employment opportunity while simultaneously keeping so much recyclable waste out of landfills.”