Centers E-News - November 2005
Academic Advising Center/ Center for International Trade / Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Academic Advising Center
Lefort Is New Jr./Sr. Professional Development Advisor 
The CBBS Academic Advising Center welcomes Denise Lefort as the new Junior/Senior Professional Development Advisor. Lefort will focus on the needs of juniors and seniors; she will be mentoring juniors and seniors about internships, job choices, professional development, studying abroad, as well as graduate school information. In addition to mentoring Juniors and Seniors, she is also coordinating the Faculty Department Internship Advisors and their efforts of working with Juniors and Seniors in each respective department in assisting them in finding internships as well as career information and benchmarking data pertaining to internships and students. Ms. Lefort will also be the primary coordinator for the Italy Study Abroad Program (CIMBA) which Clemson University is part of the consortium of universities.
The Academic Advising Center also coordinates an Italy Study Abroad Program, Consortium Institute Management Business Analysis (CIMBA). Over twenty students attended the information session held on October 13, 2005 for the College of Business and Behavioral Science.
Center for International Trade
Clemson Research that Led to Redirection of World Bank/GEF Program in China
CIT Director Bill Ward is working with the World Bank to write a series of reports on lessons of experience from energy efficiency investments in Brazil, India and China. A highlight of these experiences is work done by Bob Taylor and Todd Johnson at the World Bank with a research team at Clemson led by Bill Ward that caused the World Bank/Global Environment Facility programs on energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions in China to be redirected away from subsidizing state enterprise investments and towards using private markets to solve environmental problems. That redirection resulted in China now having several hundred privately owned "energy service companies" or ESCOs similar to the ESCOs that developed in the U.S. and Canada after the energy crises in the 1970s and 1980s.
Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Master Panel
The Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Clemson University hosted over 300 students and representatives from the Upstate business community at the Ernst & Young 2005 Carolinas Region Entrepreneur Of The Year ® Master Panel on Wednesday, October 26, at the Palmetto Expo Center in Greenville. This year’s panelists were Dr. Paul Sohmer with TriPath Imaging, Inc. of Burlington, N.C and Mr. Charles Raymond with Horizon Lines of Charlotte, NC. TriPath Imaging was the winner in the Life Sciences category and Horizon Lines won in the Manufacturing & Distribution category.
The panelists shared stories from their business experiences and took questions from the audience during the lively 90-minute panel session. Following the program, guests had the opportunity to meet the speakers and network during an on-site reception.
This was the third consecutive year for the Spiro Center to host the Ernst & Young Carolinas Region Entrepreneur Of The Year ® Master Panel. According to Dr. Caron St. John, Director of the Spiro Center at Clemson, “The Master Panel is a significant event for us each year. It allows our students to hear from highly accomplished entrepreneurs and to network with upstate business leaders.”
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year ® competition began 19 years ago to recognize and honor successful entrepreneurs in the United States. The first round consists of 31 regional competitions (including the Carolinas) during which finalists and winners are selected in categories including communications, defense and security, financial services, health sciences, real estate/hospitality/construction, manufacturing and distribution, master entrepreneur, media and entertainment, retail and consumer products, services, and technology. The regional competitions are held in June, and the winners advance to the national competition in Palm Springs, California in November.
Spiro Center Open House
On Friday, November 11, the Spiro Center officially welcomed visitors to the Center’s new location on the third floor of Sirrine Hall. Faculty, staff and students in attendance enjoyed a reception and tour of the new office suite. Guests of honor were Mr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Spiro, the Center’s founding benefactors. In his remarks, Mr. Spiro praised both the College and the University’s commitment to entrepreneurship and stated that he and Mrs. Spiro are delighted with the outstanding return on their investment in the Spiro Center.
Spiro Center Sponsors InnoVision Technology
Development Award
The Spiro Center sponsored the Technology Development Award at the InnoVision Technology Awards Program for the sixth consecutive year. The annual awards banquet, held at the Palmetto Center in Greenville on November 9th this year, celebrates achievements in innovation and technological excellence in the 10-county South Carolina Upstate region. The InnoVision Awards program, now in its seventh year, features sponsored competitive awards in five categories: Technology Application, Technology Development, Innovation in Education, Community Service, and Small Enterprise. In addition, two special awards are made each year: the Dr. Charles Townsend Individual Achievement Award and the Hall of Fame Award.
The Spiro Center was delighted to see two of its clients as finalists for the Technology Development Award: Dr. David Cull with Vascular Innovations and Mr. Brian Morin with Innegrity, LLC. The Spiro Center has provided market assessment and business planning assistance to both of these entrepreneurs over the past two years. Dr. Caron St. John, Director of the Spiro Center, had the pleasure of presenting the award to Dr. Cull.