EPG Summer Institute Syllabus

Lead Instructors
Debbi D. Brock
GST 386: Entrepreneurship and Leadership
Office: 3rd Floor Bruce Building Office Hours: 3-5 M/W, by appointment.
Phone: 985.3634 E-mail: debbi_brock@berea.edu

Lori Briscoe-Pennington
GST 229: Appalachian Problems and Institutions
Office: 1st Floor Bruce Building Office Hours: MW, by appointment.
Phone: 985.3257 E-mail: lori_briscoe@berea.edu

Course Overview
Entrepreneurship is part of the American dream. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the best hope for stabilizing and diversifying Appalachia’s economy lies in the creation and expansion of businesses that provide jobs, build local wealth, and contribute broadly to economic and community development. The need to expand and support entrepreneurial activity as a means for revitalizing Appalachian communities led to the creation of Berea College’s Entrepreneurship for the Public Good (EPG) program. By developing leadership skills and business skills, students will be empowered with the tools necessary to make a difference within communities. There is a need for entrepreneurs with creative business concepts and the courage to turn these concepts into sustainable enterprises that create jobs and create value for customers. The goal of the EPG program is to create service-oriented leaders for Appalachia and beyond.

The course is organized into three major components pursued in parallel with one another. Students will be exposed to the Appalachian region through the communities we will be working with during the summer to gain an understanding of the region and the needs of communities. In the second phase, students will be exposed to entrepreneurship and work to develop their own “entrepreneurial mindset.” According to Ian MacMillian, the entrepreneurial mindset is “a powerful way to stop thinking and acting by the old rules and start thinking with the discipline of a habitual entrepreneur.” Whether a student pursues a career in a nonprofit organization, for-profit business, or starts their own venture, the entrepreneurial mindset is a valuable tool to empower you to create change. The final phase is for students to build their own leadership skills by applying what they learn in the program in a community partner project. The teams will meet regularly with each organization and move through an evolving series of steps, which will culminate in a value-creating final project for the community partner organization.

To help facilitate students’ learning, the EPG program has teamed with a number of faculty members from Berea College and leading institutions around the country to help teach the components of entrepreneurship, leadership, and community development. In addition, community partners, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and economic development experts will serve as instructors in the course. The end result is to create an active learning environment where we can share our own experiences and learn from the experience of others.

Textbooks and Workbook

• Entrepreneurship, 6th Edition. ISBN: 0072971851. Robert Hisrich, Michael Peters, Dean Shepherd. 2005. Hand in Hand: Community Economic Development in Tupelo. Vaughn Grisham and Rob Gurwitt. Communities by Choice: An Introduction to Sustainable Community Development. Jeanne Hibberd Gage and Don Harker, 1997. EPG Summer Institute Workbook (provided by instructor). The workbook provides a diverse group of readings about entrepreneurship, leadership, and community development in the Appalachian region. The textbook is a valuable resource on issues that you may face during the summer program. These are not the only resources available to you and should be used along with the readings, articles, and books about the specific topic you are working on.

Course Objectives
Through the program, students learn how small businesses and nonprofit agencies employ socially responsible practices to provide jobs and build healthy communities. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Cultivate your own entrepreneurial and leadership skills. Understand the role of small businesses in contributing to the local, regional, and national economy. Construct your own definition of entrepreneurship for the public good.
• Appreciate the unique characteristics, requirements and contributions of the Appalachian region and the organizations and businesses that serve the region including an appreciation for the challenges/obstacles entrepreneurs behind these enterprises face.

• Practice leadership skills by establishing priorities, setting realistic expectations, and completing objectives within a team environment. Develop critical thinking skills to address development efforts in the region. Create value for a community partner by accomplishing a project that will add value to the organization. Take an active role in building your own leadership skills to become an effective leader.Prepare yourself to create positive change in the region.

Service Learning Capstone Project
Students will be placed on Community Partner teams to complete a project that fits the needs of one of our partner communities in Owsley County or Estill County in Kentucky or Clearfork Valley in Tennessee. These are some of the poorest counties in the region and are working to create more opportunities. The community projects are based on the concept of “service-learning,” the process of combining community service and rigorous reflection in order to enhance academic and personal development. The student teams are expected to research and analyze issues, develop strategies and action programs, and implement (or begin implementation) of their project during the summer experience. Students will be oriented to the community in the second week of the summer program to learn about the community, organizations in the community, and the project the student team will be working on over the summer. The student teams will visit their communities four times during the course of the summer, hold weekly conference calls, keep meeting minutes, and attend community meetings when applicable. Each community partner team will have a mentor that is an instructor with the EPG program.

Course Credit Requirements
Students will represent the Entrepreneurship for the Public Good program and Berea College to the local community. Because of our obligations to the organizations we serve, you are asked to carefully consider the requirements of the class and to commit yourself to the completion of all course objectives. The EPG program was conceived as an integrated learning experience, so the two courses share a common syllabus. Students are not permitted to drop the class after the first week of the course. Students will receive two course credits (GST 299 and GST 386) for the successful completion of the 2004 Summer Institute program. All students are responsible for completing the following as part of the program:
1) Complete assignments and participate in activities designed to help you learn and apply the principles of entrepreneurship, leadership, and community development while adding value to your community partner organization.
2) Read articles on entrepreneurship, leadership and community development to build a base of knowledge.
3) Attend all class sessions for the summer program June 7 – July 31, M-F 9am-3pm (some sessions will be held until 5pm or overnight for the field trips). Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory.
4) Write a letter of engagement indicating the project your team will be responsible for and an action plan for accomplishing the objectives.
5) Meet every other week with your Community Partner team mentor, complete four meetings with your community partner organization, and conduct additional research/readings required to complete the project.
6) Produce a Community Partner Team Portfolio for the community project outlining the project, creative directions, accomplishments, and a plan for the future.
7) Create and deliver a presentation on the community project to your fellow classmates, the community partner organization, and faculty and staff at Berea College. Professional dress is required.
8) Keep and submit your own written personal reflections on experiences and observations on a weekly basis.

Each student will be required to review and sign a student agreement for participation in the course. Violation of the agreements will result in a failing grade for the courses as specified in the signed contract.

Student Evaluation

GST 229 Assignments Points % of Grade
Appalachian Historical Timeline 50 10%
Appalachian Essay 150 30%
Personal Reflection Journal Entries 75 15%
Class Participation, Quizzes, and Attendance 100 20%
Cumulative Reflection Essay 125 25%
Total 500 100%

GST 386 Assignments Points % of Grade
Final Community Project & Team Participation 150 30%
Final Team Presentation 50 10%
Class Assignments* 125 25%
Personal Reflection Journal Entries 75 15%
Class Participation, Quizzes, and Attendance 100 20%
Total 500 100%

* Class Assignments: You will be required to turn in a variety of class assignments relating to your community project. There are eight assignments that are worth 10-25 points each.

GST 386 Assignments Points
Market and Community Research Report 10
Community Project Letter of Engagement 20
Concept Elevator Pitch 10
Financial Modeling 20
Marketing Plan or Strategies 20
Community Press Release 10
Entre-Camp Training Session 25
Entre-Camp Handout 10

Checkpoints
You are expected to come to class prepared, and play an active role in the discussions that take place during the class. This means reading all material and preparing all assignments in advance. Contributing to class discussions includes asking and answering questions, providing insights on assigned material, presenting examples to class of issues you are facing with your community partner, etc. There will be random “checkpoints” throughout the course to ensure your understanding of the readings and course topics. The goal of the checkpoints is to prove you are up to date on the readings and you understand the concepts presented in the course lectures and discussions. It is your responsibility to speak up if you do not understand what is being presented by the instructor(s) in the course.

Appalachian Problems and Institutions
Students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of the region by writing an essay on the Appalachian region after the first three weeks of the program. In addition, students will be placed in teams to create a timeline of the development of the Appalachian region including the social, political, economic, and other influences. Students will develop critical thinking skills to understand the historical development in the region versus the current development efforts in the region. The cumulative reflection essay will showcase everything you learned while working with your community partner, observations during field trips in the region, content presented in class, knowledge gained from speakers, and readings about the region.

Field Trips in the Region
During the summer program, students will travel to several communities in the Appalachian region to gain a deeper understanding of entrepreneurship and leadership in the area. From Whitesburg, Benham, and Lynch in Kentucky to Athens, Ohio, you will visit businesses and nonprofit organizations that are regional models and study examples of economic development that builds upon local resources and talents. The community field trips are scheduled for June 22-24 to Athens, Ohio and July 19-21 to southeastern Kentucky. Students are expected to travel with the class and stay at the accommodations that are provided by the EPG program.

Attendance and Class Participation Policy
The key to the success of the EPG program is the active participation of the students in the program. Enrollment in this course is an elective choice, and participation in working with community partners a privilege. Accordingly, attendance is required just as you are required to go to work on time every day. Because of the commitment demands of the program, student labor requirements have been waived for the summer. As each class session builds on previous material, more than two unexcused absences will lead to the student forfeiting his/her class participation grade with additional course absences being counted against the student’s final grade. Excused absences consist of illness for you or your child (with doctor’s note) or family funeral.

Each student is expected to keep a personal journal to reflect on your experiences with the EPG program including interactions with your community partner, development of your own leadership skills, reflections on what you learned in class discussions, and working with your team. Bring the journals every Friday to class, as the instructor will read the journals periodically throughout the semester.

Team Participation
An important part of learning is actually applying the knowledge gained to a real situation. Communities collaborate in teams to accomplish objectives set forth by the community. It is imperative that team members learn how to work together to build upon each team member’s strengths and weaknesses. The teams will meet throughout the summer in class, during one-on-one engagements with their community partners, and outside of class to prepare the final project. Students are required to attend all community partner meetings and team meetings. Since the entire course is based on teamwork and collaboration, your grade for the course will be influenced by the efforts of other students. One of the goals of the EPG program is to build your own leadership skills. In order to do this, students need to be accountable for issues with team members that can often be resolved by communicating with your teammate(s) and/or seeking the advice of the instructor. Individual contributions to the final project will be carefully considered. It is not required that each team member receive an equal grade – if the amount of effort by each team member is not equal. Evaluation of you and your team members will occur at two points during the semester.