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USM Center Addresses Needs of Small Business
The small business community, often described as Maine's "engine of economic development and job creation," will have easier access to educational programs through the Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business in the University of Southern Maine's School of Business.
"Despite their prominence, entrepreneurs and small business managers traditionally have been underserved by educational programs at the college/university level," wrote Thomas D. McBrierty, commissioner of economic and community development, in a letter of support for the center. McBrierty noted that some 90 percent of Maine's businesses employ fewer than 20 people. Other studies have shown that businesses with fewer than 20 employees created all the net new jobs in Maine from 1990 to 1994.
USM's School of Business began planning for the center in 1995 to meet the need for increasingly sophisticated knowledge, entrepreneurial skills and technical abilities among small businesses so they can compete in a changing business environment. The University of Maine System Board of Trustees approved creation of the center at their November 18, 1996 meeting. The center is self-supporting. "Small businesses are playing a key role in strengthening the state's economy, and the people of Maine have a right to expect research and services which contribute to the growth and development of these enterprises, " said University of Maine System Chancellor Terrence MacTaggart.
The center offers several non-credit courses, among them Fundamentals of Marketing,
Listening To Your Business, and Premier FastTrac®. In addition to developing courses, workshops and research projects that respond to the needs of small business, the center coordinates credit and non-credit programs now offered through several USM units.
School of Business faculty member Valarie Lamont is the center's director. Lamont is also director of USM's Institute for Real Estate Research and Education and co-director of the MBA graduate program. In addition to affordable housing issues, her other areas of expertise include technology and the state economy.
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