Southwest Technical College President Joins National Forum to Promote Entrepreneurship

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CONTACT: Heather Van Sickle
vansickle@nacce.com
(413) 306-3131 ext. 303
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SOUTHWEST TECH PRESIDENT 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

FENNIMORE – June 7, 2012 -- The National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), the nation’s leading organization focused on promoting entrepreneurship through community and technical colleges, has announced that President Duane M. Ford of Southwest Wisconsin Technical College has joined its new Presidents for Entrepreneurship Forum. Through the program, presidents of community and technical 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 six other Wisconsin technical colleges have also joined the new forum.

With the economy still lagging in many regions of the United States, 175 community and technical colleges throughout the country 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.

"Southwest Tech has long been engaged in regional economic development initiatives. One of the most important contributions a technical college can make is to systematically identify, train, nurture, and support entrepreneurs among its students and within its service district,” said President Ford. "Southwest Tech is pleased to join other community and technical colleges and NACCE in this effort.”

Other Wisconsin technical college presidents joining the forum are Susan May, Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton; Jeffrey Rafn, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay, Marinette and Sturgeon Bay; Lori Weyers, Northcentral Technical College, Wausau; Bettsey Barhorst, Madison Area Technical College, Madison; Barbara Prindiville, Waukesha County Technical College, Waukesha and Pewaukee; and Sheila Ruhland, Moraine Park Technical College, Fond du Lac, Beaver Dam and West Bend.

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 and technical 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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