LOVE’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER

The Love’s Entrepreneurship Center at Oklahoma City University is one of the state’s most valuable business development resources. The Love’s Center provides a variety of business consulting programs to new businesses, startup operations and companies seeking expansion. The process also includes strategic planning, business plan development, marketing research, accessing capital, and growth management.

The Love’s Center is also home to the

• Busey Institute for Enterprise & Leadership
  
• Continuing Professional Education Program
  
• Corporate Directors Institute
  
• Institute for Innovation and Customer Excellence (I2CE)
  
• Sports Institute
  
• Steven C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute

The Love’s Entrepreneurship Center also provides scholarship support to students seeking a college education in entrepreneurship and business. To learn more about the Love’s Entrepreneurship Center call (405) 208-5540.

BUSEY INSTITUTE
The Busey Institute for Enterprise & Leadership provides professional programs to the public on various topics designed to meet the dynamic needs of regional businesses. The Busey Institute, funded by former Oklahoma City University students Phil and Cathy Busey of The Busey Group, holds annual seminars at the Meinders School of Business providing students and professionals education on current topics and networking opportunities with highly respected business leaders. The Busey Institute also provides student scholarship support.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
The Continuing Professional Education Program offers students and working professionals certification courses in many demanding fields including Project Management Professional®(PMP), Certified Financial Planner®(CFP), and Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). We also meet the dynamic needs of regional businesses by providing customized on-site programs for groups. We specialize in program development handling everything from entire program assessment and delivery to all administrative functions. The Continuing Professional Education Program at Oklahoma City University in partnership with Gatlin Education Services and ed2go, also offers more than 400 online open enrollment programs designed to provide the skills necessary to acquire professional level positions for many in-demand occupations. For more information or to enroll in a course, visit www.okcu.edu/business/profed.

CORPORATE DIRECTORS INSTITUTE
The Corporate Directors Institute (CDI) facilitates the exchange of innovative ideas, best business practices, and other information that provide “C” level executives the most up to date information on board governance. CDI provides leading corporate directors and governance professionals the opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives regarding many of the most critical topics facing corporate, not-for-profit and government organization boards today. The annual conference through CDI is Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS)-accredited and allows participants to earn Corporate Governance Quotient (CGQ) credits for their listed companies. In addition participants can earn 10 Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits.

INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATION AND CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE (I2CE)
The mission of the I2CE is to provide an active interface between business school faculty and students and the business community, through the provision of marketing-oriented solutions focused in the areas of professional sales, sales force management, product and service innovation, product development and planning, demand management, customer service and relationship management, and supply chain logistics. I2CE accomplishes these goals through numerous knowledge products based on cutting edge research, which include executive and/or continuing education, developmental work-site seminars, employee training courses, contract research projects, and marketing and management consulting, among other activities. I2CE programs benefit clients by providing innovative, real-world solutions based on cutting edge theory and industrial best practices.

SPORTS INSTITUTE
The Sports Institute holds several events and continuing education seminars throughout the year to educate professionals and students about industry best practices, provide a means to connect students to the sports business community, and provide a forum for student and professional skills development. Sports business is big business; as such sports business has expanded into special events and the multimedia world and has created many career avenues for properly educated and experienced sports business graduates. In addition to the Meinders School of Business sports business curriculum, the Sports Institute provides students and industry professionals a way to gain experience and insight into the industry.

STEVEN C. AGEE ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND POLICY INSTITUTE
Steven C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute is focused on assisting the Oklahoma City business community by disseminating information to businesses, government, and regulatory agencies through economic impact studies, marketing and macroeconomic survey data, the Meinders Consumer Confidence Poll, and other forms of economic research. The institute oversees eight consumer confidence surveys conducted in concert with the Federal Reserve Bank meetings as well as other research and polling for businesses, organizations, and agencies. The institute is designed to provide undergraduate and M.B.A. students opportunities for direct involvement in applied economic research through the Institute Scholars Program. To learn more about the institute, contact Dr. Steven C. Agee at sagee@okcu.edu or visit the ERPI Website.

OUR MISSION

The Love’s Entrepreneurship Center focuses on providing practical knowledge, advice and experience to budding entrepreneurs with a goal of developing viable and successful business ventures. This Center will serve as a development resource for:

• Individuals outside the university looking to establish business enterprises that are mission driven and are well positioned for high growth and innovation.
  
• Existing Oklahoma businesses that are looking to develop new business ventures and are in need of assistance.
  
• OCU Students that are interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and potentially developing their own business concept.
  
• OCU Faculty that is interested in doing research in the area of entrepreneurship.

Our business launch strategies have been proven to lead to high growth and innovation in many of the most successful organizations in the world.

The center develops and delivers entrepreneurial knowledge and guides entrepreneurs in the application of that knowledge.

To accomplish this mission, the Center:

Facilitates close coordination and interaction between the Love’s Entrepreneurship Center and other entrepreneurial centers.

Develops and supports education programs (involving both theory and application) that bring together students from the Meinders School of Business and those across the University for the purpose of entrepreneurial learning.

Supports research on entrepreneurship and business ventures, and encourages the wide dissemination of research findings through publication and conference presentations.

Assists people with commercial ideas (from both inside and outside OCU) through application of business models, strategic planning, education, and mentoring.

Fosters an entrepreneurial culture within OCU through broad and proactive promotion of entrepreneurship – providing opportunities to develop skills and to apply those skills.

Promotes the image and reputation of the Meinders School of Business and Oklahoma City University as a center for regional entrepreneurship.