The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship welcomed more than 30 community college faculty members from across California to Fresno State to participate in the inaugural Community College Entrepreneur Pathway training, March 5-7. Created by the Lyles Center, the training is designed to help faculty deliver entrepreneurial education to students.
Participants had the opportunity to explore classroom tools, take part in hands-on exercises and complete subject-based projects highlighting entrepreneurship. Attendees learned how to effectively teach entrepreneurship and how to access support from a state-wide community focused on entrepreneurial education and development.
“The most important two takeaways for me are that we must espouse action and that I now have the great potential to build an excellent network of amazing colleagues,” said Jose Nava, accounting and business professor at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. “My experience in this program has provided me with an excellent starting point to accomplish that goal.”
Led by Dr. Timothy Stearns, executive director of the Lyles Center, Eric Nasalroad, Entrepreneurship Center director at Reedley College, and Matthew Alanis, business instructor at Clovis Community College, the training concluded in a certificate ceremony on Saturday, March 7.
“I thought the experience was extremely comprehensive. It was certainly more than I expected,” said Carol Williams, adjunct instructor of business and applied technology at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. “It is a curriculum that could be useful for any aspect of entrepreneurship training. I was talking with a student who is looking for a business college, I told them I’d attended this training at Fresno State and was extremely impressed with what I saw.”
Community college students who take a course based on the Community College Entrepreneur Pathway curriculum are eligible to receive three units of entrepreneurship education upon transferring to Fresno State.
“The Entrepreneur Pathway enhances students’ pursuit of self-employment throughout their college career,” said Stearns. “By linking faculty and campuses with common curricula, entrepreneurial growth will increase dramatically. The Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is pleased to host this effort.”
For additional information, contact Dr. Timothy Stearns at 559.278.3735 or timothys@csufresno.edu.
