Richard Tyler Invited to Participate in the Houston Community College NW Inaugural Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Consortium

BY RICHARD TYLER Over the last number of months in our Richard Tyler International Community Blog, I have written posts about Houston Community College (HCC) and it’s Center for Entrepreneurship. I have also touched on the unique and wonderful partnership the College has formed with community based organizations such as Newspring, and how the Newspring Business Plan Competition was the launching pad for the Center’s birth. The rapid growth and expansion of HCC’s Center for Entrepreneurship is wonderful to witness and it is particularly amazing since it is happening at a college. I say particularly amazing because most colleges and universities are not entrepreneurial by nature, including the ones that have Entrepreneurship Programs. Most tend to approach the subject with the old adage “Do as I say and not as I do”. That is not the case at HCC and it certainly isn’t the case at the HCC Spring Branch Campus, where College President, Dr. Zachary Hodges and Center Director Sandra Louvier are constantly on the move to grow the Center, offer more meaningful programs and make connections with business leaders. All with the main purpose of doing what I’ll call: “The Trifecta of Entrepreneurship”

1. Educate individuals that want to open businesses
2. Help them become successful entrepreneurs
3. Create jobs

Dr. Maya Durnovo, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Economic Development and Entrepreneurial Initiatives, HCC System (now that’s a title) has done a magnificent job contributing to this cause as well. It is my understand that for some time now Dr. Hodges has wanted to create an entrepreneurship team, “Think Tank” if you will, consisting of HCC members and outside business leaders. Like any good entrepreneur, when you want to make something happen and you need money to do it, you create a funding strategy. That is what Sandra has done and it has paid off. The Coleman Foundation, a private, independent grant maker, with a focus on entrepreneurship has made an award to the Center for Entrepreneurship. You can read more about The Coleman Foundation and their generous work in the About Section of this post. I am thankful and privileged in that I have been invited to participate as one of the inaugural Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Consortium Partners. I am looking forward to it.

The Coleman Foundation Grant Announcement –  The Coleman Foundation Provides Record Grant Awards Towards NACCE’s Presidents for Entrepreneurship Pledge

The HCC initial announcement about the grant and the consortium creation.
Entrepreneurship & Economic Development Consortium to be Created

HCC competed with 34 community colleges nationwide and was one of 11 colleges to win a grant from the Coleman Foundation to further Entrepreneurship at their colleges.  The grant funds are being used to form a team of internal and external partners called the Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Consortium.  On February 26, Dr. Zachary Hodges will welcome this outstanding team of partners who will continue and deepen their collaboration efforts in 2014.  Grant winners, Sandra Louvier, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Evelyn V. Velasquez, Dean of Economic and Workforce Development will introduce four events being planned between now and August.  Event leaders will introduce event topics including Importing/Exporting (Deanna Teel), a Faculty Conference (Linda Koffel), a Small Business Growth Summit (Sandra Louvier) and Veteran Entrepreneurship (Marylyn Harris).

About HCC
HCC is one of the country’s largest singly-accredited, open-admission, community colleges offering associate degrees, certificates, workforce training and lifelong learning opportunities for 75,000 students each semester. HCC is composed of six colleges that serve the greater Houston area’s diverse communities by preparing individuals to live and work in today’s increasingly international and technological society. To learn more go to hccs.edu.

About the HCC Center for Entrepreneurship
The Coleman Foundation is a private, independent grantmaker that primarily focuses its grantmaking in the Midwest region. Beginning in 1981, the Foundation established core programs in three main areas: cancer care, developmental disabilities and entrepreneurship education. In response to a reality which touched the lives of Foundation members, the Foundation has been an advocate for raising the standards of cancer care in the Midwest. Funding has been directed at programs that provide cancer treatment, education and psychosocial support services. The Foundation encourages collaborative efforts among developmental disabilities providers and supports various programs aimed at helping individuals with developmental disabilities experience a higher quality of life and increased self-determination. With its focus on entrepreneurship, the Foundation began to question why individuals are encouraged to “get a job” rather than “create a job”. Since that time, the Foundation has supported awareness and promotion of self-employment through entrepreneurship education programs that help create a new generation of business owners.