Dr. Barbara L. Adams, professor of accounting at South Carolina State University, is the principal investigator for two grants totaling $204,708 to nurture and advance entrepreneurship and agribusiness education at the university.

A project titled, "Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship: A Program to Develop Agribusiness Entrepreneurs," was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The project will focus on the following areas at SCSU:

n Retooling of faculty to teach entrepreneurship and agribusiness courses at the graduate level; development of an undergraduate course in Enterprise Development.

n Development of agribusiness entrepreneurship courses for the MBA Program.

n Development of an AgriBusiness Enterprise Development Center to provide training, resources, research, support services and outreach for graduate students, farmers and other small agribusiness enterprises.

Dr. Marion Sillah, assistant professor of business administration serves as co-project director.

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) funded a second project titled, "SEED: Students Empowered for Enterprise Development." This project is designed to empower and engage students from different disciplines to become innovative and entrepreneurial thinkers while they prepare for their chosen careers.

Working as E-Teams (entrepreneurship teams), students will:

n Develop a new product or process or improve upon an existing one.

n Conduct research and develop prototypes of their project; and develop a business plan to start a venture.

Four interdisciplinary E-Teams consisting of four to six students will be formed. A faculty adviser and a mentor from the business community will assist each E-Team. Students will also be required to attend two seminars: New Product Development and Enterprise Development. Students completing the program will compete for cash awards in a business plan competition during the spring semester and will be awarded a certificate in enterprise development.

"These initiatives are necessary to remove the barriers the university currently face in its attempt to advance agribusiness and entrepreneurship education. The initial funding of these projects will enhance the mission of the university and foster an inventive, innovative and entrepreneurial way of thinking among more of our students," Adams said.

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