RIT Alumni Entrepreneurship Conference, March 26

Keeping in mind the myriad of companies in the global marketplace and those who lead them, Rochester Institute of Technology has been busy developing institute-wide initiatives for students to network with successful RIT alums and entrepreneurs"".ord($0).";"specially those who have strategically turned humble beginnings into powerhouse businesses.

Although academia partnering with industry seems like a challenge, RIT’s College of Business has successfully organized the first RIT Alumni Entrepreneurship Conference. This inaugural event will be held on Friday, March 26, highlighted by keynote addresses from RIT trustee, Richard Aab, President of RTA Associates, LLC, and alumnus Steven Sauer, president of Business Methods.

Since every successful business needs a strong supporting cast—the Entrepreneurial Conference will be an eye-opener for RIT students as well as industry-wide professionals who can exchange ideas on the growing and rapid changes in businesses and its economic impact in Rochester and beyond.

“This conference will be national in scope,” says COB Director of Development Mark Boylan. “It is designed to serve as a forum to exchange ideas, explore new concepts, and to generally promote the entrepreneurial spirit among the university’s core constituents, which would include our alumni, friends of the Institute, faculty and students.

“Attendees will also include leading entrepreneurs from the region, comprising western and central New York state.”

The all-day Friday conference begins at 7:30 a.m. with a continental breakfast, introductions and opening keynote address in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science Auditorium. General sessions will be held from 9:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Louise M. Slaughter Building, with a luncheon and keynote address scheduled for noon to 1:30 p.m.

“We expect RIT’s faculty and students to be a key component of the proceedings, since the university has undertaken a major initiative to formalize and standardize the entrepreneurship curriculum across RIT’s eight colleges,” Boylan projects.

Industry leaders in the individual sessions—from Christine Whitman, retired president and CEO, CVC Products, to Dick Kaplan, president and CEO, Pictometry—will discuss necessary entrepreneurial characteristics, from teamwork, financing and marketing, to balancing the demands of business and personal life.

“Clearly, the economic health of this region will be a focal point of the conference, addressing the role of universities in promoting entrepreneurship, new business ventures, and job creation,” says Boylan.

Prior to the conference, the COB will host the 2004 Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award luncheon at Oak Hill Country Club on Thursday, March 25—celebrating this year’s recipient, R. Wayne LeChase, CEO of LeChase Construction Services, LLC.

The cost for the RIT Alumni Entrepreneurship Conference on March 26 is $75 (inclusive) or $25 (lunch and keynote address only). To register, call 475-2199.

For more information, visit www.cob.rit.edu/entconference.

NOTE: Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Business is recognized nationally as a leading provider of career-oriented business education, offering undergraduate and graduate level programs in accounting, finance, international business, management, management information systems, marketing, and photographic marketing management. U.S. News & World Report ranks RIT’s College of Business among the top undergraduate business programs in the country.


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