College of Business Gift Enhances Entrepreneurship and Executive Speaker Class
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2005
CONTACT: Joe Wills
Tel: 530-898-4143
College of Business Gift Enhances Entrepreneurship
and Executive Speaker Class
California State University, Chico’s College of Business has received a $104,430 gift to promote entrepreneurship and leadership training.
Alumnus George Schmidbauer, CEO of the Schmidbauer Lumber Company, based in Eureka, made the gift to the college. Schmidbauer earned his BS in business administration from CSU, Chico in 1953.
The majority of the funds provided through Schmidbauer’s gift will support the college’s new Entrepreneurship Center. The remainder will support a leadership class that will bring leading executives to Chico. The class will allow students and faculty to gain important insights and understanding from interactions with respected business leaders from throughout California and beyond.
“The Center for Entrepreneurship has one overriding goal — to grow entrepreneurs,” said center director Terry Noel. “Mr. Schmidbauer’s gift gives us the resources we need to start two important initiatives in support of that goal. The first, an Entrepreneurs Roundtable, will provide an education and mutual support mechanism for start-up and early-stage companies in and around Chico. The second, an Entrepreneurial Education Forum, will provide both Web-based and person-to-person education and support to aspiring entrepreneurs all over northern California.”
“Chico’s entrepreneurship program is a strategic area of distinction which the College of Business is aggressively expanding,” said Steve Adams, dean of the College of Business. “The program prepares students for an exciting professional career, as well as supporting local entrepreneurs. The executive speaker class provides students with an invaluable educational opportunity. The College of Business is extremely appreciative of Mr. Schmidbauer’s generous support.”
“George Schmidbauer’s generous gift is appreciated on so many levels,” said Paul Zingg, president of CSU, Chico. “It underscores the confidence that our alumni have in the good work and direction of the college. It exemplifies the kinds of partnerships we need to build in order to support the aspirations of the college and a high-quality learning environment for our students. And it supports a program initiative that focuses on bringing the expertise of the college to bear in serving the needs of the North State.”
Fully accredited since 1972 by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the CSU, Chico College of Business provides exemplary instructional programs that are characterized by technological innovation and experiential learning.