In this month's issue

ISBDC Update

On Friday, March 23rd, the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Illinois State University will celebrate serving more than 120 individual clients and creating 141 new jobs in our community in its second year of operation. The Center’s Annual Report further highlights many of the successes enjoyed during 2006. At 5 p.m. there will be a brief presentation, including the announcement of our newly formed Advisory Board. For additional information about the event, contact Elizabeth Binning at (309) 438 -3610 or by email ejbinni@ilstu.edu.

Hutton Auto Repair is a recent success story for ISBDC. When Robert and Debbie Hutton first came to the Illinois Small Business Development Center at ISU, they were concerned about being approved for the loan that would start their new business in LeRoy. Although they had good credit and had saved up to purchase approximately $100,000 in equipment and tools, the concept of a business plan was overwhelming.

"Bobby can complete race-car modifications with ease, but working in Excel or Word was not his strong suit," admits Elizabeth Binning. "I did a little more typing of their hand-written plan than normal."

"Elizabeth was so encouraging and helpful. She really kept us going," said Debbie Hutton, who assists in the Quick Lube oil change bay.

Ten months after first coming to the Illinois SBDC, Hutton Auto Repair completed renovations on their newly purchased commercial building and opened in LeRoy in late 2006.Debbie says she's especially proud of the honest work they do because of her own past car repair experiences. "Now I realize I was overcharged for things I didn't even need. There are a lot of women who come here because they know that won't happen to them."

International Internships

Opportunities for international internships continue to blossom at Illinois State university thanks to collaborative efforts of business, agriculture, and technology faculty. Three students will travel to Germany this summer with associate professor of technology, Klaus Schmidt, to introduce a line of environmentally-friendly soy-based solvents and cleansers to wholesalers. In preparation for their trip the students are conducting research about the country, its business environment and regulations. They are also identifying potential distributors to visit during their four-week experience. The trip is supported by a $10,000 grant from Franmar Chemical of Bloomington, which manufacturers the products.

"The authentic learning experience has already begun for these students,” said Iris Varner (MQM). “They spent several days demonstrating Franmar products in Las Vegas at the World of Concrete Trade Show in January.” In addition to manning the company’s booth, the students practiced networking skills and gained real-world business insights as they interacted with several thousand industry professionals attending the event.

Faculty coordinator, Peter Kaufman (MKT) is excited about the on-going internship opportunity in the Southern Hemisphere. “Last summer six Illinois State University students enjoyed a multi-disciplinary experience in New Zealand. This summer a fresh group of students will return and continue supporting the collaborative venture between Rockford-based AgVantage and Dataloggers of New Zealand,” Kaufman said. Mark Hoelscher (MQM) will join the students and supervise their efforts during the trip.

Participants from both internship programs will complete document their efforts and outline recommendations for future action at the conclusion of their field-experiences.

Timothy Gueldener (AG), Lauren Kucer (MKT), and Matea Simovic (IB) will travel to Germany for their summer internships. Those completing an internship in New Zealand are Alicia Ackerman (AG), Jo Beth Borowiak (IB), Laura Hickey (MKT), Betty Jarosz (IB), Mary Wolff (MBA), and Rob Wunder (BUA).

December Graduate Employment Survey

Near the end of fall semester Norris Porter of the Dean’s staff utilized an on-line survey tool, Student Voice, to gather information about December COB graduates. A summary of the results is below.

67/198 graduates completed a survey – 34%
57% were professionally employed, 18% were employed part-time or not seeking employment and 3% were attending graduate school
Of those attending graduate school 50% are pursuing Law and 50% Accounting.
62% had salaries between $30,000 and $50,000; 27% were between $40,000 and $50,000; 30% were over $50,000. The average of the midpoints was $39,256.
89% of those professionally employed will be working in Illinois

Average salaries by major degree program are either above or at the national averages reported by the National Association of Collegiate Employers for fall 2006:

Accounting - $44,928
Business Administration and Management - $41,155
Finance - $44,588
International Business - $39,847
Marketing - $37,191

Kiplinger Ranking

For the third straight time, Illinois State has been ranked as one of 100 best values in public colleges in the country according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. The University also jumped 9 spots, from 83rd on last year’s listing to 74th in Kiplinger’s new edition. According the article in the February 2007 edition, Kiplinger’s list focuses on schools that are noteworthy for their “top-flight academics and affordable costs.”

Kiplinger’s rankings are based on data provided by more than 500 public four-year colleges supplemented by the magazine’s independent research. Ranking measures include freshman class ACT scores, admission rates, student-faculty ratios, the percentage of faculty with the highest degree in their field, how much each school spends on instruction for each student, how much each school spends on its library facilities and four-and six-year graduation rates. The U of I was the only other state university in Illinois to make the list.

Information System Monitors

If you are arranging for events or guest speakers in the building please take the time to enter your information through our Events Webpage. This will enable your announcement to appear on the new information system monitors. Also, the Dean's office will update the ISU Web Calendar using what you’ve entered.

Please bookmark http://www2.cob.ilstu.edu/events/ to make it easy to enter events or speakers. The web page asks for your user name and password. Use is restricted to COB faculty and staff. So if you sponsor a student organization you will need to add the events to system.

PRIDE Speakers Available

PRIDE is the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and ally group on campus. The organization’s goal is to promote a safe environment by educating the campus on issues of special concern to its members, including creating safe classrooms and offices. A panel of PRIDE representatives is available for classroom or RSO question and answer sessions. For further information e-mail speakers@isupride.org or visit the group’s website at www.isupride.org.