Long Beach City College President Eloy Ortiz Oakley Joins National Forum to Promote Entrepreneurship

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CONTACT: Heather Van Sickle
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LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT ELOY ORTIZ OAKLEY JOINS NATIONAL FORUM TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship Promotes Entrepreneurship by Engaging Community Colleges to Join New Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum

LONG BEACH – July 26, 2012 -- The National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), the nation’s leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community colleges, has announced that President Eloy Oakley of Long Beach City College has joined its new Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum. Through the program, presidents of community colleges throughout the country commit to increase the focus on entrepreneurship at their institutions and the impact these colleges have on the economic well being of the communities they serve. Officials from 12 other California community colleges have also joined the new forum.

With the economy still lagging in many regions of the United States, more than 175 community colleges have joined the entrepreneurship forum, and by doing so, have committed to playing a greater role in stimulating economic development in the communities they serve.

"Entrepreneurship is the key to sustaining a vibrant economy and for creating new opportunities to apply the creativity of our students. Community colleges are an excellent place to foster entrepreneurship and Long Beach City College is excited to be a part of this important movement,” said Long Beach City College President Eloy Ortiz Oakley.

Other California community college presidents joining the forum are: Michael Claire, College of San Mateo, San Mateo; Ronald Taylor, Feather River College, Quincy; Jack Daniels, Los Angeles Southwest College, Los Angeles; Celia Barberena, Chabot College, Hayward; Willard Clark Lewallen, Hartnell College, Salinas; Jowel Laguerre, Solano Community College, Fairfield, Vacaville and Vallejo; Glenn Roquemore, Irvine Valley College, Irvine; Jamillah Moore, Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles; Laurel Jones, Mission College, Santa Clara; Andrew Jones, Coast Community College District, Fountain Valley; Brad Davis, West Valley College, Saratoga; and Jose Ortiz, Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria.

About the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum

The Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum is in response to the Obama Administration’s Startup America call to action to stimulate economic growth state by state by encouraging entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. NACCE is a founding affiliate of the Startup America Partnership, an alliance of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations, and other leaders.

According to NACCE Executive Director Heather Van Sickle, the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum is a way for community colleges to advance entrepreneurship and create jobs across the country.

Community college presidents who join the Forum make five commitments:

• Develop transparency of community college and community assets

• Create internal and external teams dedicated to entrepreneurship

• Increase entrepreneurs’ engagement in community colleges

• Engage in industry cluster development

• Create broad exposure to their college’s commitment to entrepreneurship.

"The five commitments were developed based on NACCE’s observations of what was working best on member campuses,” said Van Sickle. "After observing the entrepreneurship-related activities of our members over a period of years, we started to see commonalities among the more successful institutions,” she said. "One of the major things that clearly makes a difference is the commitment by leadership to entrepreneurship.”

About NACCE

The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is an organization of educators, entrepreneurs, and distinguished business development professionals providing quality programs and services in entrepreneurship education and serving as advocates for "entrepreneurship movement.”

Through membership, an annual conference and exhibition, a quarterly journal, monthly webinars and podcasts, a dynamic list-serv, and other resources, NACCE serves as the hub for the dissemination and integration of knowledge and successful practices regarding entrepreneurship education and student business incubation. These programs and courses advance economic prosperity in the communities served by its member colleges.

For more information about the Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum, or to join NACCE, visit http://www.nacce.com. Follow NACCE on Twitter at @NACCE and like the NACCE – National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship page on Facebook.

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