Graduate Entrepreneurship Ranks #4 in Nation:  In its 4th annual survey of 700-plus collegiate entrepreneurship programs, The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine ranked our program #4 of the Top 10 graduate entrepreneur programs in the nation.  Only Syracuse, DePaul and Northwestern universities ranked higher than CSUSB in the rankings, but it should be noted that our program was the top-ranked public program in the U.S.  This year UCLA was ranked in the 11th spot of the Top 25.  This young program saw its first 3 entrepreneur grad students in the year 2000; in just three years there was regional ranking, and now Top 10 national ranking.  Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship Director Dr. Mike Stull said, "It validates that the path we have chosen for the program - to be innovative, take risks, and strive for the highest level of quality possible in curriculum, teaching and programs - is paying off by better preparing our students to be the Inland Empire's future entrepreneurial success stories." 

You're Invited - Executive Briefings:  Business Alliance invites your attendance at the three-part Executive Briefings Series, running from November through January.  Hear a panel discuss branding of the Inland Empire, and Jack Brown on economic development.  Wrap up the series at a lecture and book-signing with Stedman Graham on Thursday, January 25.  Briefings are sponsored by Wells Fargo, Stater Bros. Markets, and Citizens Business Bank.  Register online, or mail/fax back your registration.  All three briefings are only $100, or $40 each.  Business Alliance members have reduced registration cost, of course.

EZ:  Bright and early on a September morning, Dr. Lee Hanson, Management Department Chair, flew to Sacramento toting his 30-year-old army duffel bag stuffed with six ring binders to be delivered to the CA Department of Housing & Community Development.  The binders, containing an application for designation as a state enterprise zone, were jointly prepared by the City and County of San Bernardino, the City of Colton, and the Inland Valley Development Agency, in competition with some 25 other jurisdictions around the state.  If the application for “San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone” is one of the successful candidates, it will create a 40-square-mile zone encompassing much of the area of San Bernardino and the northern part of Colton, offering tax incentives to encourage new business growth and job creation.   Previously, Professor Hanson prepared a successful “LAMBRA” application which granted enterprise zone status to San Bernardino International Airport, the former Norton Air Force Base.  The “LAMBRA” designation has been credited with helping attract corporate facilities that recently opened at the airport, including Stater Bros. headquarters now under construction.   The CA Department of Housing & Community Development will announce the new enterprise zone designations on October 27.

New MBA for Executives Cohort:  In Winter 2007, another cohort of executives will get underway on a seven-quarter adventure toward completion of the MBA for Executives degree.  Sign up now!  Classes are evenings and Saturdays to accommodate full-time managers.  $18,500 is the total fee.

Exemplary Chapter:  At the Western Association of Collegiate Schools of Business Deans' meeting this week, Beta Gamma Sigma presented chapter awards. CSUSB was designated a 2006 Exemplary Chapter.  Congratulations to Beth Flynn, MBA Director, for exemplary work in obtaining memberships from eligible students in the top 5% of undergrads and the top 10% of graduate students for this honor society that was founded in 1913.  Dr. Eric Newman is President of the Chapter, and both he and Dr. Otto Chang donned academic regalia along with Chapter Secretary Flynn to "tap" eligible members while in class! 

Reza's Multi-Continent Consortium:  Three French students have been chosen to participate in the North American Consortium on Entrepreneurship program at the University of Laval, Quebec, Canada, in Winter Quarter including Jonte Leon-Guerrero and Sarah Quinte, French/International Business double majors.  In Quebec, the students will take courses at the university while completing an internship.  Professor of Management Dr. Ernesto Reza is the grant leader at CSUSB.  The program involves six universities in the US and Canada, and Baja, Mexico.  The mission of NACE is to advance the study and practice of entrepreneurship in the expanding market environment arising from the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The Taiwan Program sponsored a dinner for about 100 alumni and their guests in Taipei this September.  Alumna Lucy Chou, in Taichung and now responsible for Diesel shoes, was instrumental in planning a festive dinner, complete with balloon arches of balloons she had made with the CSUSB logo.  A reception was also held for prospective students interested in attending the College of Business and Public Administration.  Photos such as the one at left were taken with each alumni class along with [left to right] Drs. Rauf Kahn and Otto Chang, chair of the Taiwan Program Advisory Board Dr. Kuan Chen, Dean Bowerman, Associate Dean Frank Lin, and Dr. Tapie Rohm.  Dr. Otto Chang was instrumental in arranging for the signing of four MOUs with Taiwanese national and private universities.  Taiwanese students may contact program director Nancy Fu for further information on CBPA's Taiwan Program.