July 9, 2003
Professor-Entrepreneur-Author Joins Belmont Business Faculty
Dr. Jeffrey R. Cornwall, a veteran business professor, author of books on entrepreneurship and founder and former CEO of a fast-growing healthcare company, has been appointed as Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Director of the Center of Entrepreneurship at Belmont University's Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business.
As a member of the Massey School faculty, Dr. Cornwall will provide leadership within the overall College of Business Administration with respect to entrepreneurship outreach, research and teaching. Cornwall will also serve as director of the college’s Center for Entrepreneurship, as well as oversee the development of the student-run retail space that will front Belmont Boulevard.
Cornwall comes to Belmont from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., where he has taught since 1997 and held the Sandra Schulze Chair in Entrepreneurship. He chaired the Department of Entrepreneurship since its inception in 2000, and was Program Director of the Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program from 1997 through 2000. During his tenure, the program received national ranking and several awards for its curriculum and innovative coursework.
From 1988 through 1997, he was president, CEO and chairman of the board of Atlantic Behavioral Health Systems, Inc., based in Raleigh, NC, a company he co-founded. The company began as a series of start-up ventures that were merged into a holding company, and operated a full continuum of behavioral health programs, including outpatient clinics, community based services, and residential facilities throughout North Carolina. The 350-employee company was sold in 1997.
He taught from 1983 to 1988 at the College of Business Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and from 1979 to 1983 at the University of Kentucky
Cornwall is a published author or co-author of four books on various facets of entrepreneurship, including two due out this year: Entrepreneurial Financial Management, published in May by Prentice-Hall, and a book on entrepreneurial school leadership, due out in October from Scarecrow Press.
In addition to authoring books and numerous journal articles, Cornwall is a sought-after lecturer and has been contracted by such clients as iWonder, the University of Mary, Advanced Technologies Integration, the University of Wisconsin Learning Innovations, EcoWater, and HealthSystem Minnesota since 1998. He consults businesses on start-up and growth related issues and re-establishing entrepreneurial cultures within their organizations.
The Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University was founded in 1996 at the initiation of R. Clayton McWhorter, chairman of Clayton Associates, LLC. and a former chairman of Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation and HealthTrust, Inc. Mr. McWhorter recognized the need for counsel and resource referral for individuals involved with start-up ventures. Since 1996, the Center has expanded its community outreach, partnered with businesses to create a variety of learning experiences.
"Belmont University and Nashville have the essential elements to build a strong entrepreneurship program with a truly unique focus," said Cornwall. "I am excited to have the opportunity to work with the students, faculty, and staff of Belmont to help make this a reality."
Cornwall earned his BS in business administration from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point in 1979, his MBA in 1980, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Kentucky, and his Doctorate in Business Administration in 1983, with a concentration in management and organization, also from UK.
The Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship honors the memory of the late Nashville businessman Jack C. Massey. One of the country’s most noted entrepreneurs, Massey is best known for his record achievement of bringing three separate enterprises to initial listings on the New York Stock Exchange.
With nearly 14,000 graduates, Belmont’s community of nearly 3,500 students comes from 42 states and 28 countries. Belmont is committed to premier teaching with a focus on success in the real world. Our purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs. With more than 50 areas of study, eight master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual’s horizon.
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Belmont University, host of the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate, is a fast-growing community of nearly 4,800 students who come from almost every state and more than 25 countries. Committed to being a leader among teaching universities, Belmont brings together the best of liberal arts and professional education in a Christian community of learning and service. Our purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs. With more than 75 areas of study, 12 master’s programs and three doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual's horizon.
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