SPOTLIGHT
Business Schools
and Innovation
Featured School:
North Georgia College and State University
Mike Cottrell School of Business
Dahlonega, Georgia, United States
www.ngcsu.edu/bschool
May 2010
AACSB International
SPOTLIGHT | Business Schools & Innovation
North Georgia College and State University | 2
Mike Cottrell School of Business
The Center for the Future of North Georgia
Established in 2008, the Center for the Future of North Georgia (CFNG)1 was funded by a portion of the
$10 million naming gift of businessman Mike Cottrell to the North Georgia College and State University
business school. North Georgia College and State University (NGCSU) is a liberal arts institution located
in Dahlonega, Georgia, a small historic town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. According to Max Burns, dean
of the business school, the creation of the CFNG was the only stipulation Cottrell made in giving the
naming gift. Cottrell envisioned the new center as “an applied research resource for the region's cities,
counties, chambers of commerce, economic development authorities and other public and private
entities2.”
The CFNG’s innovation-supporting activities focus on facilitating sustainable economic growth by bringing
new businesses processes to local companies and organizations in the North Georgia region. NGCSU’s
strategic plan strongly emphasizes community outreach, and as a result the university-level administration
is highly supportive of the CFNG and its activities.
Faculty Engagement
The CFNG facilitates research projects by business school faculty in partnership with local businesses
and other organizations to create knowledge that can help them develop and sustain growth over the
long-term. Additionally, through the CFNG, faculty offer non-credit training for new and existing small
businesses from various industries, including technology, restaurant franchise, safety consulting,
dentistry, interior design, dry cleaning, elderly in-home care, etc. These training sessions are targeted
toward helping the small business owners to develop and execute growth plans.
For example, in 2009, CFNG Director Ruben Boling led a class of ten local business owners in a
NxLevel3 business training certificate course, which was offered in partnership with several North Metro
Atlanta partners, including the Greater North Fulton and Cumming-Forsyth County Chambers of
Commerce. NxLevel is a national program (for which Boling is a certified instructor) that includes business
skills training for small businesses seeking to move beyond the start-up phase, providing guidance in
marketing, bookkeeping, financial projections, and negotiating with lenders. It has been delivered to more
than 120,000 entrepreneurs in 47 states. According to the company, existing business owners have
reported average sales increases of 32 percent within one year of graduating from this program4.
CFNG is also involved in the North Georgia Network (NGN)5 Cooperative, which recently was awarded a
$33 million grant from the U.S. federal government to extend broadband Internet infrastructure across 12
counties in the region6. The CFNG’s role, according to Burns and Boling, will be to help direct the use of
© AACSB International. All Rights Reserved.
SPOTLIGHT | Business Schools & Innovation
North Georgia College and State University | 3
the grant money by performing economic impact studies, and ultimately to help build a high tech
incubator/accelerator to attract knowledge-based companies that need broadband access to the North
Georgia region.
Student Engagement
With the support of the CFNG, approximately 15 students each year are placed as interns in various
regional public and non-profit organizations through the semester-long Intern Initiative. Students and the
organizations they work with are required to define their respective expectations in advance of the
internship, including the final output of the students’ projects. Upon completion of the internship, students
must also produce a write-up of their experiences, a daily log of their activities, and an 8-10 page
research paper on a topic related to their experience.
A broader range of students choose to engage in service learning programs with local organizations,
taking leadership roles in assisting them in the development of innovative training programs, marketing
events, and general business execution. For example, through a management seminar course that
includes a social media component, many students are engaged in assisting local small businesses in the
innovative use of social media for marketing and business development. CFNG Director Boling notes
that the number of students involved with the CFNG social media service learning initiative has grown,
from 25 in the fall semester of 2009 to approximately 70 in the spring semester of 2010.
Other future plans to support regional innovation include possible cooperation with the School of
Education’s Appalachian Studies Center (which focuses on persevering the heritage, history, culture, and
art of the region) in an arts marketing program, whereby business students help to create opportunities
for local residents to share their talents more broadly. The school is also exploring opportunities to host
student-run entrepreneurial ventures in the university’s expanding retail space.
Acknowledgements: AACSB International is grateful for the assistance of Max Burns, Dean of the Mike
Cottrell School of Business, and Ruben Boling, Director of the Center for the Future of North Georgia.
© AACSB International. All Rights Reserved.
SPOTLIGHT | Business Schools & Innovation
North Georgia College and State University | 4
End Notes
1
North Georgia College and State University, Mike Cottrell School of Business. (2010) Center for the
Future of North Georgia, Home Page. Electronic document,
http://www.ngcsu.edu/MikeCottrellSchool/Default_1col.aspx?id=3629, accessed March 17, 2010.
2
March 21, 2007. “Cottrell makes $10 million gift to North Georgia.” The Dahlonega Nugget. Electronic
document,
http://www.northgeorgiamba.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=56,
accessed March 17, 2010.
3
NxLeveL® Education. (2010) Home Page. http://www.nxlevel.org/, accessed March 17, 2010.
4
June 24, 2009. “Local entrepreneurs learn to grow bottom line.” The Digest. Electronic document,
http://apache.northgeorgia.edu/digest/storiesDigest24June09.htm, accessed March 17, 2010.
5
North Georgia Network (NGN). (2010) Home Page. Electronic document, http://ngnonline.net/, accessed
April 1, 2010.
6
December 17, 2009. “Civitium Helps North Georgia Network Cooperative Land $33 Million Broadband
Stimulus Award with Vice President Biden Making the Award Personally.” PR Newswire. Electronic
document, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/civitium-helps-north-georgia-network-cooperativeland-33-million-broadband-stimulus-award-with-vice-president-biden-making-the-award-personally79493317.html, accessed April 1, 2010. © AACSB International. All Rights Reserved.