Washington, DC, April 10, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is heading to Atlanta this week to bring two of its prominent capacity building programs that support students and faculty of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), announced TMCF President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.
The Opportunity Funding Corporation (OFC) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, to be held from April 10-13 at the W Hotel Atlanta, offers a comprehensive entrepreneurship curriculum particularly relevant in preparing young African-American men and women to become entrepreneurs. It includes three components: Business Plan Competition with $22,500 in cash prizes available to winning teams, HBCU Dean and Faculty Development Seminar, and the newly created TMCF Entrepreneurial Development Program that aim to stimulate student interest in entrepreneurship.
The program is designed to provide collegiate entrepreneurs a real-world experience that includes conceiving a business idea, writing a business plan, and presenting those plans to a panel of judges, to infuse innovative entrepreneurship practices into the curriculum of HBCUs, during the Dean and Faculty Development Seminar. Rodney Sampson, Executive-in-Charge of Diversity & Inclusion of One Three Media and Co-Founder of Opportunity UP/HUB/Venture will serve as one of the judges.
As a new division of TMCF, the OFC has a 40-year history of developing minority businesses in the United States with a focus on developing strategies for attracting capital, as well as nurturing the creation of a new class of professional African-American entrepreneurs.
"More than 100 of the best and brightest entrepreneurial students from 19 participating HBCUs will show off their talents over the next few days while connecting with some of the country's most successful entrepreneurs, business leaders, and corporate partners like WalMart and Sam's Club" said OFC President M. Scott Lilly. "We wait in anticipation to see fresh ideas from the next generation of business builders who are key to helping grow our nation's economy."
Following the OFC Competition, TMCF will host its 15th Annual Member-Universities Professional Institute (MUPI). The theme of this year's conference, "Full STEAM Ahead: Improving Retention, Graduation & Career Readiness in Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics (STEAM)," engages faculty in mapping pathways for public HBCUs success in these fields of study. In addition to the Institute, for the first time, TMCF will also bring together Presidents/Chancellors from the public HBCUs for a day-long discussion and focus on HBCU Governance and Leadership.
"We are preparing some of the brightest students in entrepreneurship , STEAM, and business," said Taylor. " Programs such as the OFC Competition and Member-Universities Professional Institute are more ways on how TMCF continues to deliver on our mission to Change the World, One Leader at a Time!"
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