FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact:
Elise Anderson
elise.anderson@anderson.ucla.edu
(310) 206-7537
UCLA Anderson School of Management Provides Free
Entrepreneurship Program for Veterans with Disabilities
LOS ANGELES, CA – July 20, 2011 –UCLA Anderson School of Management and a select group of business schools are offering the fourth consecutive Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). Some twenty-four military personnel who were injured in the line of duty will receive education and training in entrepreneurship and small business management free of charge. The program, which runs between July 23 and 31, 2011, is designed to help participants learn essential skills that will lead to successful careers in starting, growing and managing entrepreneurial ventures.
“We have an obligation to support disabled veterans who return to our communities and seek to build meaningful economic opportunities for themselves and others,” said Professor Alfred E. Osborne, Jr., Senior Associate Dean of UCLA Anderson School of Management. “With UCLA Anderson’s highly regarded entrepreneurship faculty and programs, we are honored to be providing these veterans with the tools to advance their entrepreneurial ambitions.”
EBV applications are accepted from veterans with a ‘service-connected disability,’ as designated by the Veterans Administration, and who have served on active duty after September 2001. Candidates must demonstrate a strong interest in entrepreneurship, high motivation for owning and managing a business, and a commitment to completing the program. To date, more than 50 veterans from around the nation have graduated from the program since its inception at UCLA Anderson.
Amy Sufak, a 2009 EBV alum and president of Red Energy Public Relations, Inc., was so moved by the program that she now serves as a course instructor. “I sincerely appreciate the resources and training this program provided me so that I could create a solid business that is still growing strong three years later,” said Sufak. “This program is about people helping people, and paying it forward to help change the life of one veteran at a time.”
The EBV was introduced by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in 2007. The following year, the EBV Consortium was launched as a national partnership with UCLA Anderson School of Management, Florida State University’s College of Business and Mays Business School at Texas A&M. Purdue University, the University of Connecticut and Louisiana State University have since joined the consortium. The EBV is designed around two guiding principles. The first focuses on practical training in new venture creation and growth, including information on programs and opportunities specific to disabled veterans and the businesses that they own. The second focuses on establishing a support structure for graduates through mentoring and other forms of technical assistance.
The UCLA Anderson EBV program is administered by the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and is comprised of three distinct phases. Students develop their initial concepts during the online component of the program; participate in experiential workshops and in-class learning while at UCLA; and receive ongoing support and mentorship from UCLA Anderson faculty and alumni in the year following the residential component. With the generous support of corporate sponsors and private individuals, the entire program – including tuition, travel, and accommodations – is offered at no cost to the veterans.
“We are extremely grateful for the generous support that we have received for the EBV program,” said Elaine Hagan (’91), executive director of the Price Center. “The success of our past three classes has demonstrated the enormous value of the EBV, and we expect that this year’s program will have a significant impact on the lives of our veterans and their communities as well.”
About the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies:
The Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UCLA Anderson School of Management is an internationally recognized leader in entrepreneurial education and research. With a distinguished faculty as its cornerstone, the Center oversees activities that advance the theory and practice of entrepreneurship as well as the related fields of technology and innovation, venture capital and private equity, and social enterprise. Well known for the impact of its outreach programs, the Price Center fosters a spirit of innovation in individuals, enhances the managerial capacity of organizations, and prepares entrepreneurial leaders who will provide significant, sustainable and economic value to society.
About UCLA Anderson School of Management:
Celebrating 75 years of Business Beyond Usual, UCLA Anderson School of Management is regarded among the leading business schools in the world. UCLA Anderson faculty members are globally renowned for their teaching excellence and research in advancing management thinking. Each year, UCLA Anderson provides a distinctive approach to management education to more than 1,800 students enrolled in its MBA, Fully-Employed MBA, Executive MBA, UCLA-NUS Global Executive MBA, Master of Financial Engineering, doctoral and executive education programs. Combining highly selective admissions, varied and innovative learning programs, and a world-wide network of 39,000 alumni, UCLA Anderson develops and prepares global leaders.
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Note to journalists: Contact information for program participants available on request.