September 28, 2011 Comments 0 Southwesterner staff 1495 Views

President Teaches Entrepreneurship Class

For many years now the department of business administration has offered an extraordinary course to students who are business majors. Profiles in Entrepreneurship had its beginnings with former professor and University President Marvin Anderson.

This class has traditionally been taught by one of the business professors. However, this semester University President Eric Anderson will be the principal teacher. Gary Temple and Kristine Lemons, vice president and assistant vice president for university advancement, respectively, support Dr. Anderson in preparing for and teaching the class.

The goal is to give students a chance to study and experience the practical realities of being a successful businessperson:

How should a businessperson dress?
How does one deal with failure?
What can one expect to encounter when setting up a business?
How does an individual balance the demands of a business and family life?
What role does one’s religious beliefs and spiritual life have in the daily operations?
And, of course, what does it mean to be successful?

The intention is for Southwestern students to learn from professionals, ask them questions and be prepared to meet the challenges of a career in business after graduation. To accomplish this goal, 10 to 15 successful business people are invited to share their experiences and wisdom with our students. Each guest will have a full class period to lecture, talk about personal experiences and answer questions. Students will be given the opportunity to consider what it is that makes a person successful.

Anderson believes that not only is this a valuable experience for the students, but it is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship with each speaker, linking him more closely with the University. It’s part of the plan to acquaint these successful business people with the mission of the school and offer them an opportunity to become further involved, thus widening the circle of friends for Southwestern.