Family Business Programs at Work in the U.S. and Abroad

The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio

The University of Akron Center for Family Business, of the William T. and Rita Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, stakes its value to its members on providing a safe, noncommercial environment for support and continuing education. Since 1997, the Center has presented 14 programs to more than 800 participants from nearly 100 different family businesses. Topics of the program range from business issues (financial, tax and legal) to behavioral issues. "Most of the firms that attend our programs are not families 'in crisis,' " explains Susan Hanlon, director of the Family Business Center. "Rather, they are healthy firms and families seeking to continually improve and celebrate their successes within a meaningful context."

For more information, contact: Susan Hanlon, director, Center for Family Business, 330-972-7685

Alfred University, Alfred, New York

Since its inception in 1994, the Center for Family Business at Alfred University has grown steadily and the future for family businesses in the area is looking brighter. The Center currently is conducting family and small business research in Rochester, N.Y., the results of which will help guide established businesses and hopeful entrepreneurs to profit and longevity. In 1998, two new faculty chairs were added to oversee the university's family business efforts, laying the foundation for an expanded family business program. The Center's director is in the process of developing family business curriculum for the graduate school, providing both classroom studies and field work. "Our goal is to create the capacity for our faculty, students and graduates to become a resource for and to provide services to family businesses," says David Szcerbacki, dean of the College of Business.

For more information, contact: David Pistrui, chair, Family Business, 607-871-2971

American University, Washington, D.C.

Two years ago Gil Morin, president of a manufacturing and repair company, and his sons began thinking about what would happen when Morin left the business. Facing a series of questions: Who would run the business? How would the transition occur? How can key employees be persuaded to stay? Morin and his sons turned to the American University Family Business Forum for help. The Forum provided Morin with a variety of resources that he now is using to plan the transition of leadership to his sons. With the help of seminars and affinity group meetings, Morin and his sons created a family charter, a partnership agreement and a strategic business plan. Another popular program pairs individuals from the leading generation of one family business with individuals from the succeeding generation of another. This mentoring relationship aids the members on examining family business relationships from a detached point of view.

For more information, contact: Nina Paul, director, Family Business Forum, 202-885-1897

Babson College, Wellesley, Massachusetts

The Institute for Family enterprising at Babson College takes a strategic, growth-oriented approach to working with family businesses and groups. We address the often overlooked and difficult challenge of assisting families to create an ongoing legacy of entrepreneurship, not just pass a business from one generation to the next.

We know that to achieve continued success and growth, families must pass on the entrepreneurial mindsets and capabilities that enable them to create new streams of social and economic wealth across many generations. This family practice is referred to as transgenerational entrepreneurship. To empower family businesses and groups to fulfill their enterprising hopes and goals through successful transgenerational entrepreneurship practices, we provide a full range of academic and practice services.

Experiential Education: We offer course and a concentration in family enterprising that is highly experiential and addresses the growth and change issues of students and their family businesses.

• Applied Research: We partner with scholars around the world to conduct applied research that has immediate application to family business and is integrated into the curricula at Babson.
• Outreach Programs: We deliver customized workshops, seminars, speeches, and family business consulting focused on the growth and transition needs of families.
• Institute Leadership: We draw on global faculty resources in the areas of teaching, outreach, and research and develop long-term relationships and networks with leading family businesses and institutions.

For additional information on the Institute for Family Enterprising at Babson, please visit: www.babson.edu/EHIP/.life or email life@babson.edu 

Baylor University, Waco, Texas

Baylor's Institute for Family Business, a pioneer in the field of family business education, has received considerable attention throughout the state, including proclamations by the governor, for its annual Texas Family Business Awards program. The program gives awards in the following categories: large, medium and small companies; family values; best management; fastest growth; and community commitment. The Institute also bestows an award to recognize the company that best adheres to its founder's principles and one for the business that has been in existence through at least three generations. Established in 1987, the Institute is part of the John F. Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business (which also maintains an endowed family business position and an academic family business course).

For more information, contact: J. David Allen, Director, The John F. Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship, 254-710-6150.

Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee

Prompted by an idea brought to the university by a member of the business community, the Center for Family Business at Belmont University's Massey Graduate School of Business opened its doors in 1993. Currently, 26 businesses encompassing 125 family members participate in the Center's programs. Most family businesses at the Center are in the second or third generation, with revenues ranging from less than $5 million to more than $500 million. The Center achieves its mission – to provide real-world perspectives, information and guidance for family-held businesses and to offer opportunities for interaction between family businesses and experts – through various efforts. Six major programs featuring local and national family business experts are held each year in addition to monthly affinity group meetings on topics including succession and estate planning and communication issues.

University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California

Established in 1991 by the Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UCLA, the Family & Closely Held Business Program is dedicated to the survival and growth of established small- and medium-sized firms in the U.S. and abroad. Outreach activities, designed to address the technical and personal issues of managing a family business, are taken advantage of by family business members of trade associations and chambers of commerce all over the world, including Australia, Chile, Singapore, Uruguay and the United Kingdom. Additionally, the program co-sponsors (with the Family Firm Institute) the International Education and Research Symposium on Family & Closely Held Businesses. Held each March in Los Angeles, the symposium brings together the world's leading academic researchers, educators and program directors in family business to discuss the latest challenges family businesses face and their possible solutions.

California State University, Bakersfield, Bakersfield, California

The Family Business Institute (FBI) is a comprehensive program promoting the success of family owned businesses in Kern County.  The Family Business Institute is a public-private alliance among the School of Business & Public Administration (BPA) at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB); Kern County small and family owned businesses; and local service professionals and practitioners. Programs and support for FBI activities are administered through the Business Research and Education Center of BPA.   

The Family Business Institute is a community resource that addresses the myriad of issues pertaining to small and family owned businesses, and provides lifelong learning opportunities that explore the dynamics, complexities, and challenges of the family firm. The goal of the Institute is to develop a continuing body of knowledge and problem solving techniques that are current, reliable, and accessible to all members.

Institute programs include interactive workshops, breakfast roundtable discussions, and various informal activities and events that are designed to provide members with the most up-to-date information, trends, developments, and cutting edge examples of best practices available in the field. During the various sessions there are sharing of ideas, experiences, and expertise that provides a unique learning environment for inspiring new thinking and strategies in addressing the special issues and problems associated with family owned business enterprises. This interdisciplinary approach captures insights from such diverse sources as law, accounting, finance, insurance, real estate, investments, business consultants, media experts, security providers, banking, the academic community, and from experienced business owners and managers. There are eight to ten scheduled events a year.

Membership is open to all family owned businesses, entrepreneurs, and service professionals and practitioners interested in discussing, learning, and developing knowledge about family businesses.

For more information ... Business Research and Education Center.

California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, California

California State University, Sacramento, Sacramento, California
Sometimes a little marketing advice can really get your business off the ground. The Priley family owns and operates a successful café, combining the popular gourmet coffee and premium beer trends. However, patriarch Steve Priley sensed that his advertising campaigns weren't as successful as they could be. He enlisted California State University, Sacramento's Center for Small Business to examine his marketing strategy. A team of business school students reviewed Priley's plans and made the following recommendation: don't try to market all of your products in each marketing piece. By narrowing the focus of each campaign, the café can reach a more targeted audience, the students reported. Priley used the students' recommendations and now makes focused marketing efforts, such as hosting special beer nights. How does he feel about the consultation he received? His name is on the waiting list for another team of students.

For more information, contact: Dennis Tootelian, director, Center for Small Business, (916) 278-6203

Canisius College, Buffalo, New York

Undertaking a successful succession plan is made easier with the help of an experienced mentor. That's why the Canisius College Center for Entrepreneurship matches successful family business members who have transferred the company to the next generation with those family firms that are just beginning the process. After witnessing a dramatic decline in the local economy with the demise of several large family-owned businesses, the Center was established to stem the tide of sales and closings. Regional family businesses now take advantage of the school's extensive resources. Workshops and a series of lectures and meetings, led by experts in their respective disciplines, ensure a well-rounded education on succession issues. Topics include business valuation, limited liability corporations and effective estate planning. Special efforts also are made to train the business' heir apparent. The Entrepreneurial Planning and Management Program, another of the Center's offerings, trains those next in line on how to successfully take the reins of the company.

For more information, contact: John Wynne, director, Center for Entrepreneurship, 716-888-2895

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

The Goering Center for Family and Private Business was founded in 1987 by the University of Cincinnati's College of Business Administration with the objective of improving the success of family businesses in the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana area. Current members – whose numbers top 135 and have average sales of $20 million – participate in seminars, luncheons and affinity groups dealing with the toughest issues facing family businesses. During the past 10 years more than 2,000 people from approximately 300 different companies have taken part in the Center's programs. Additionally, the Family Business Report newsletter is circulated free of charge to 4,000 family business members each quarter.

For more information, contact: W. Kent Lutz, director of programs, Goering Center for Family/Private Business, 513-556-7185

Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Not surprisingly, the statistics concerning Canadian family businesses are quite similar to those in the United States. "These businesses are extremely important to the Canadian economy, especially because they represent so many of the new businesses," says Bakr Ibrahim, director of the Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurial Studies at Concordia University. Founded in 1994, the Centre often provides direct consultation to family businesses. Recently, the Centre helped a large manufacturing firm in Montreal develop a succession plan in an effort to stem sibling rivalry which was threatening the survival of the business.

For more information, contact: Bakr Ibrahim, director, Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurial Studies, 514-848-2701

University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut

The key challenge addressed by the UConn Family Business Program (FBP) is to manage the intersection of family and business goals, particularly the transition of business ownership and control from one generation to the next. Each year, the FBP provides eight educational workshops (in two locations), conducts the Connecticut Family Business of the Year Awards competition and supports an aggressive family business research agenda. It is the focal point for expanding UConn’s emphasis on entrepreneurial education, research and business partnering. The program provides education, professional advice and peer networks that facilitate positive and cooperative interaction among family business owners, family members, managers, professional advisors and university faculty. on the unique challenges of business-owning families. Additional initiatives include an academic course, Management 289 The Entrepreneur Intern Program, a complete video library of past FBP workshops and a quarterly newsletter. The FBP is a member-driven organization made up of over 50 business-owning families. Currently, the 16 workshops draw nearly 800 participants.

For more information, contact Diane Mitchell, associate director, Family Business Program, School of Business Administration, University of Connecticut, 860-486-5740.

DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois

Family business courses succeed if they take a multidisciplinary approach, balancing both the needs of the business and the family, says management professor Harold Welsch, who teaches a family business course that is part of the entrepreneurship program at DePaul University's College of Commerce. "You have to focus on the analytical issues of running a business and the emotional issues of running a family," he said. Welsch's background in business, social psychology and organizational behavior has helped him handle questions from students on both business and family management. Approximately 30 students – usually involved in family businesses – take the course. They can also take advantage of counseling on legal and business issues offered by the program.

For more information, contact: Robin Florzak, media relations specialist, 312-362-8592

Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa

Eighty percent of Iowa-based businesses are family owned and play a critical role in the state's economy, according to Drake University's Family Business Forum. Through the university's Small Business Development Center and support from MassMutual and Norwest Bank Iowa, the Forum offers expert advice and guidance in vital topics related to family business such as estate planning, sibling rivalry and retaining nonfamily members. To date, 119 family members representing 47 companies have been served by the program.

For more information, contact: Lars Peterson, assistant state director, 1-800-373-7232

Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison & Teaneck, New Jersey

Since 1992, the Family Business Forum at Fairleigh Dickinson University has promoted business education among family business owners and employees to improve the performance and increase the longevity of this vital segment of the economy. Sponsored by First Union Corporation, Summit Financial Resources, Inc., Hannoch Weisman and PricewaterhouseCoopers LPP, family businesses are supported through programs, seminars, peer group meetings and newsletters. Approximately 25 companies are members of the Forum, with sales ranging from $1.5 to $100 million and employees numbering between five to 100. Since most family businesses begin as entrepreneurial endeavors, the Forum is suitably housed within the university's Entrepreneurial Studies Institute.

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The Family Business Council (FBC) of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is a member-driven organization comprised of fewer than 100 family businesses from the Chicagoland area. Its mission is to address the unique needs of family-owned businesses in the areas of family, personal and business development in ways that are continually demonstrable to its members and to share the FBC’s growing body of knowledge with the UIC community. The FBC supports members in dealing with the emotions, conflicts and day-to-day demands of running a successful family business. Members learn from the social and educational events offered and have an opportunity to share their experiences and learn from each other.

Additional membership benefits include:

• Newsletter subscription;
• Access to an extensive collection of family business-related materials;
• Retreats for various member groups; and
• Forum groups that provide support and a chance to learn from the experiences of others.

For more information, contact: Ernest Barrens, director, UIC Family Business Council, 312-413-5433.

Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia

Among the first institutions of higher education to develop a program specifically for family businesses, the internationally acclaimed Family Business Forum at Kennesaw State University's Coles College of Business has been serving its members since 1987. As a pioneer in the field, the Forum developed the K-model program (now emulated at 100 colleges and universities nationwide), an ongoing membership-based program devoted to family business education and supported by professional service firms. The Forum's Family Business Academy is geared toward the next generation of family business leaders. Limited to 24 participants, family business people from around the world – Brazil, Scotland, Canada, South Africa and Puerto Rico – attend the annual four-and-one-half day intensive training session. Kennesaw State University also sponsors the Family Business of the Year award to honor top Georgia family businesses; last year, 1,200 businesses were nominated.

For more information, contact: Joseph H. Astrachan, Ph.D., Director, Cox Family Enterprise Center
Wachovia Eminent Scholar Chair of Family Business, Coles College of Business, Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road, #0408, Kennesaw, GA 30144  http://www.kennesaw.edu/fec

University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky

For 18 years the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky has served family businesses through the Kentucky Small Business Development Centers, but starting this summer, it will have a home of its own. The Family Business Institute, opening in August 1999, fulfills a request from the Lexington, Ky., family business community for a Center devoted solely to family business. Designed to meet the needs of established family businesses, the Institute expects to have 20-25 businesses its first year, each with annual sales topping $1 million. The inaugural year will offer members four full-day seminars on succession, taxation, year-end planning and the transfer of wealth.

For more information, contact: Cara Meade, communications coordinator, 606-257-9475

King's College, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Founded in 1996, the King's College Family Business Forum's mission is to help family businesses meet the challenges and demands of changing local and global markets, depending on their needs. Each year, the program's content is determined by surveying the Forum's members to identify their information needs. "Members feel a sense of ownership of the program and enjoy providing input," says director Patrice Persico. Family businesses have the opportunity to participate in six programs and workshops, affinity groups for family members and nonmembers, and skill-building workshops. In addition, they can receive free consultations from corporate sponsors.

University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky

The faculty at the College of Business and Public Administration’s Family Business Center helps family businesses deal with common issues such as marketing, financial planning, valuation and technological advancements. In a unique relationship, the college partners with the Jewish Family and Vocational Services, whose professional counselors work with member businesses on sensitive issues such as succession planning, firing a relative, dealing with family stakeholders who aren’t involved in the business, attracting/retaining non-family executives, and other emotional and psychological issues specific to family businesses. More than 100 family businesses are active in the FBC; they are involved in many types of enterprises, including coal brokering; home appliance, office furniture and independent drug stores; floral and design shops; and numerous manufacturing and professional service firms. Members are finding the programs so valuable that one local family business entrepreneur recently pledged $500,000 to support the Center.

For more information, contact: Randy Neely, executive in residence, 502-852-1518

Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland

In addition to its Center for Closely Held Firms, Loyola MBA students provide direct consultation to family-owned businesses. Among those businesses that have benefited from the field work is The Fitch Company, a family-owned janitorial supply company formed more than 100 years ago. Two teams of MBA students worked with top management at Fitch throughout 1998, analyzing all aspects of operations, management, sales, marketing and financial forecast. Chief executive officer Lynne Kirsner's management team now is reviewing the students' feedback and creating a new strategic business plan. One of the suggestions was implemented immediately: an employee motivation survey. Based on the data collected, a new incentive program is being established to motivate employees using their answers to choose the proper rewards. The partnership between Fitch and Loyola extends beyond the classroom, according to Kirsner. "We made friendships out of this program." She adds, "The university is extremely altruistic. It always is thinking, 'How can we help this business?' At the same time, we're thinking, 'What can we do to help these students learn about business?' "

Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

From the basement of the founding director’s home grew one of the most widely known family business think tanks. Since its humble beginnings in 1990, Loyola University Chicago’s Family Business Center has grown to accommodate 60 multigenerational clients with sales totaling $9 billion and more than 62,000 employees. The Center’s Family Business Learning System, designed to customize a learning plan for each family member, emphasizes communication between generations. "Ten years of research and real world experience with our member families have allowed us to continue to develop innovative programs," according to director Andrew Keyt. These programs include the Communications Institute and The Next Generation Leadership Institute. The Communications Institute, housed in the Family Business Center, trains family members to facilitate their own meetings by focusing on personal style, group development, conflict management and meeting arrangement. The Next Generation Leadership Institute trains next generation leaders in family-owned companies.

For more information, contact: Andrew Keyt, director, Family Business Center, 312-915-6490

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Venturing at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, in partnership with Centura Bank, serves family businesses by sponsoring a series of workshops designed specifically around their needs. One of the Center's offerings, the Closely Held Business Program (CHelBus), uses family business consultants to deliver relevant content for the attendees, but the programs are offered at a fraction of the cost that consultants usually would assess. At the first workshop, held during May 1998, family business owners and managers met to share ideas and develop a list of topics to be addressed in future workshops.

For more information, contact: Jeff Reid, executive director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Venturing, 919-962-2031

Northeastern University, Dedham, Massachusetts

Northeastern University’s Center for Family Business was founded in 1991. A membership-based educational program, the Center’s activities revolve around Constituent Forums focused on the unique interests of senior generation family members, women, emerging leaders and successors who are stakeholders in their family businesses. Bimonthly participation with peers in small facilitated and focused discussion groups allows Forum members to address issues of their own concern and to learn from others. The educational value of the Constituent Forums is enhanced by a Core Program of six highly interactive events (Executive Breakfast Case Conferences and Half-Day Workshops) open to the entire family.

The Center also publishes a newsletter, Family Business Quarterly, with a circulation of close to 10,000 readers. Students in entrepreneurship courses in the university’s College of Business Administration are exposed regularly to family business issues through classroom presentations and also may be available for marketing and research assignments. The Center is involved actively in multiple research and community outreach projects, and its programs are refined continually in response to members’ needs. Supported by committed sponsors who are experts in their fields of service to family business, the Center currently serves more than 300 stakeholders in 70-plus family-owned businesses. Northeastern’s Center is proud to sponsor the Family Firm Institute’s Best Doctoral Dissertation Award.

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

The Center for Family Enterprises at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management focuses on the unique aspects of businesses when they are owned, governed and/or managed by families.  Led by Professors John L.Ward and Lloyd E. Shefsky, the center strives to determine and disseminate best practices through research, case-writing, publications, courses, programs, conferences and a reference library.  Individuals from large, worldwide , multi-generation family businesses with complex governing structures can sign-up for the school's 5-day program, "Governing the Family Business", held in October each year.  Enrolled M.B.A. students can take the course, "Family Business:  Issues and Solutions", conducted winter quarter, and may also join the active student Family Enterprise Club.  Cases authored by the center are available through the Kellogg Case Collection and Harvard University Press.

For more information, or to contact one of the co-directors, please access the Center's web site at:
www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/familyenterprises or send an e-mail to: familyenterprises@kellogg.northwestern.edu 

Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Because family business issues often are emotionally charged, they require both managerial and behavioral consultation. That's why the Institute for Family Business at Nova Southeastern University operates under the auspices of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship and the School of Social and Systemic Studies. The first university in the country to combine such a program under two different departments, it addresses both family and business issues. Some of the Institute's outreach activities include: forums with national speakers specializing in family business, workshops designed for skill-building and awareness-raising, and a newsletter with articles addressing family business challenges.

Members also may receive diagnostic surveys from the Institute, which have proved enormously helpful to some businesses. "The Institute for Family Business has helped us tremendously. It relieved me of the responsibility of how to turn the business over to the children, and it taught them how to take control. We achieved this in eight months. On our own it would have taken 12 years," said one member.

The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Family Business Solutions, a program launched in early 1999 by Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business, offers two- and three-day sessions focusing on issues such as developing family business plans, managing communication and conflict, planning for succession integrating technology, capitalizing on international business opportunities, and honing marketing and sales efforts. More than 120 family businesses are expected to participate in programs during 1999, ranging from a $5 million importer of sports equipment with fewer than 20 employees to a fully-integrated hand tool implement company with more than $300 million in annual sales, 27 domestic plants, five international manufacturing facilities and 2,000-plus employees. The objective of FBS programs is to prompt action by owners, whether that's to review their estate plan or to start doing business on the Internet.

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Consistency is essential to a successful family business program, according to Stephanie Curtin, Oklahoma State University's Family Business Forum program coordinator. Efforts to work with Oklahoma’s family businesses had been only sporadic until the Forum's establishment in 1998. Now, family business owners and employees can depend on the Forum to host three professional development seminars each year. The seminars are designed to share expertise and support those involved with managing family businesses. The idea is for participants to leave each Forum armed with information they can use immediately in their business operations. It must be working. A survey of event participants revealed that 94 percent of responses rated the program in the very good and excellent categories for the first Forum. The second Forum totaled 100 percent in the same categories. Or, as one participant put it: "Learned a great deal from the speakers. Learned more from interaction with other families."

For more information, contact: Stephanie Curtin, Oklahoma State University Business Extension, 405-744-5208

Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon

The Austin Family Business Program at Oregon State University has embraced technology as a means of providing assistance to family businesses without geographic boundaries. The program's intent is to provide practical, hands-on learning opportunities that are affordable and widely accessible; in 1998, 10 Succession Workshops were held in 10 communities and the "Family Business Management" course was delivered via satellite and through the Internet to the University of Oregon. A newly redesigned Web site truly has given the program an international classroom. The site, named best on-line family business resource by Family Business magazine, offers the first ever on-line succession workshop, a showcase of family businesses and an alumni club. The program also established the country's first Family Business Awards – now replicated by other universities – to recognize contributions by family businesses. Launched in 1985 (at the time, only the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania had a similar program), the Oregon State University program sought to help serve the business community. Oregon business students also benefit from the program. The university has five scholarships designated for those studying family business.

Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington

The Family Enterprise Institute at Pacific Lutheran University was created in 1992 in recognition of the ongoing needs of lifelong learning and business growth in family firms. With a mission to preserve and promote family enterprise within the Pacific Northwest, the Institute offers real-world, leading-edge educational programs, advisory services, access to family business-focused research and a peer network system. Family businesses, in turn, serve the School of Business and university by providing internship opportunities and helping design the content of continuing education programs.

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Family Enterprise Center’s mission is to protect, preserve, and promote closely held, family owned businesses throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. As part of the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, the center provides valuable insights into pivotal issues that affect family businesses through leading-edge educational programs and peer advisory activities. The FEC offers a forum where several generations of family members, non-family professional managers, and family members not active in the business can all learn from each other. The FEC’s core programs feature the expertise of nationally renowned experts in the field of family business. Member-to-member groups give individuals in similar circumstances, such as seniors or siblings, the opportunity to interact in a facilitated roundtable discussion. At the Family Enterprise Center, we recognize that family businesses, which account for 60% of total U.S. employment and 78% of all new jobs, are a vital part of our community.

For more information, contact: Sharon Flake, director of public relations, 412-648-1566

Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia

For more information, contact: Cathy Stacey, faculty support officer, 61-7-3864-2975

Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri

It's a two-way street between family businesses and businesses at the Family Firm Forum at Saint Louis University's School of Business and Administration: the businesses receive professional assistance and the school receives access to area businesses. "There is an obvious advantage in hosting a program of this type within the business school," says Robert Brockhaus, Coleman Chair in Entrepreneurship and director of the Jefferson Smurfit Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. "There is a wealth of information inherent in the nature of the Forum. Services and information are shared where needed." The Family Firm Forum was founded in 1994 to help successful family businesses develop sophisticated strategies for growth, planning and the transfer of leadership to future generations. Three times per year members attend seminars featuring experts in the fields of family business research, management and education.

For more information, contact: Robert Brockhaus, Coleman Chair in Entrepreneurship and director of the Jefferson Smurfit Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, 314-977-3826

University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Center for Family Enterprise at the University of St. Thomas’ Graduate School of Business offers a variety of lifelong learning programs for families in business together. These include the Family Enterprise Forum series, Women’s Roundtables, the Successors Leadership Breakfasts, Owner/Entrepreneur Lunches and the Professional Education Series. The unique "fireplace room," custom designed with a working fireplace for family business interventions and meetings, is an example of the innovative tools utilized. The Center serves nearly 900 family business members and family business professionals each year.

Another service the school provides is the Professional Education Series. Family business consultants and advisors come from a variety of professions and most are not aware of the impact that family dynamics have on the business. The school includes them as part of the learning system to help them serve family businesses more effectively by adopting a broader family enterprise perspective and understanding how to use it in their family business consulting work. An additional service offered to family businesses is the family business developmental assessment survey and feedback process.

A "Family Business Management" course is offered each spring at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This course requires the full participation of both parents and their student. Designed to explore individual, family, organizational and strategic issues, the family takes the course together, attending class and completing all course activities as a team.

For more information, contact Sandra J. Johnson, director of research and program development, Center for Family Enterprise, Graduate School of Business, University of St. Thomas, 651-962-4412.

University of San Diego, San Diego, California

The University of San Diego was one of the first "forum" type programs in the country. Since 1991, this forum, called the USD Family Business Institute (FBI) has been offering 10 to 12 morning breakfast seminars per year to its members, currently made up of nearly 30 business-owning families.

Beyond the forum, USD is expanding its interest in family business, offering several courses geared specifically to family business issues. In addition, a team of faculty from management, accounting and taxation, law, marriage and family counseling, and communications and conflict resolution have joined together to form a full university institute aimed at building a series of thrusts into the field of family business. These "thrusts" include:

• degree programs aimed at undergraduate and graduate students;
• non-degree programs aimed at business owners in the San Diego community;
• CEU granting programs aimed at service providers such as lawyers, accountants, psychologists and family therapists; and
• developing a support system for researchers in family business.

The institute aims to develop liaisons with family business programs at universities around the world, especially in the Americas and the Pacific Rim, to help develop a research agenda in comparative international family business issues.

San Diego State University, San Diego, California

The EMC Business Forum at SDSU was conceived to meet unique needs of local family and closely-held firms. This demographic seeks comprehensive resources to address issues such as transgenerational entrepreneurship; family relationships; traditions and values; power, control and compensation; roles and responsibilities; and legal, financial and other planning issues around leadership succession and ownership transfer. A University-based program that integrates academic learning with practical strategic tools will drive member company value creation and ensure prosperity. Considerable sponsor resources and an efficient member networking system will further help companies to better recognize opportunities and overcome challenges, promoting longer-term growth and success through the generations.

Siena College, Loudonville, New York

At Siena College, family business experts believe knowledge is power. Recognizing that a) family-owned businesses are a vital part of the regional economy, and b) there is a serious gap between the needs of family businesses and the resources readily available, the college organized the Family Firm Institute. The Institute provides not only knowledge, but also the ability to put that knowledge into practical application. Emphasizing group activities (seminars, workshops and affinity groups), members are encouraged to communicate with each other as well as the experts on-hand. The Siena Family Business Institute is one of 100-plus organizations of its kind throughout the U.S.

For more information, contact: Stanley Simkins, director, Family Firm Institute, 518-783-4254

University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina

Graduate students at the University of South Carolina's Darla Moore School of Business have the opportunity to receive formal instruction in family business practices. "Family Business," offered for the first time this spring, provides students with background and appreciation of the issues that are unique to family businesses. Interestingly, five of the 15 students in the class are from European family businesses. In addition to academic instruction, the school also houses the South Carolina Family Business Forum. Formed in 1994 with the sponsorship of Arthur Andersen & Co. and MassMutual, the Forum hosts three day-long programs on issues related to family business, such as conducting family meetings, organizing an outside board of directors, bringing children into the business and compensating family members. The Forum also publishes three family business newsletters each year.

For more information, contact: Janet Katz, director of communications, 803-777-2727

University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota

"Kids Can Conference Too!" Because talents and interests are formed early in life, the South Dakota Family Business Initiative (SD-FBI) provides opportunities for family business children ages 5-14 to learn about such topics as leadership, marketing, competition, resources, and relationship building. The "Kids Conference" is a recent addition to SD-FBI’s annual Prairie Family Business Conference, where participants learn from local and national authorities about a wide range of family and business issues.

Since its inception in 1993, SD-FBI has worked to build relationships that promote healthy families and successful businesses in South Dakota and its surrounding areas. Currently, it serves 114 firms. A membership-based program, SD-FBI seeks to involve, educate and recognize the accomplishments of its members, build alliances with complimentary organizations; and encourage the participation of potential members.

The SD-FBI also offers a senior level/graduate course called Family Business Dynamics through the South Dakota School of Business. In conjunction with this course, the Distinguished Lecturer Series brings real world experience into the classroom, as prominent family business members share experiences with students and invited guests. In addition, members receive a quarterly newsletter and have access to a comprehensive resource library that includes printed material, audio tapes and videos on a wide variety of family business topics

For more information, contact: Clark H. Hammond, executive director, South Dakota Family Business Initiative, 605-6767-5103.

Stetson University, DeLand, Florida

Since 1998 Stetson University, realizing the importance of family business, has been committed to establishing the Family Business Center's (FBC) Holistic Model as internationally prominent.  The Center's goal is to create a safe harbor and make all of the resources available to help students and family businesses learn, grow, and prosper.  The FBC's "holistic" approach to helping family businesses involves teaching students (the Next Generation of family businesses), faculty adding to the research in the field, and providing service to families and professionals. 

With the foundation of the Holistic Model being teaching, Stetson offers the second minor in the nation in family business.  The minor consists of five courses including an internship in a family business outside the student's FB.  Through analysis of themselves, their families, and their family's business, the students gain a feeling of self-confidence and also develop the skills, credentials, and experiences to succeed in or beyond their family business.  The student's families are also involved in the educational process through the coursework as well as through retreats that parallel the courses in the minor. 

This innovative program is looking for interested partners with the interest, time, and resources to help us continue our success and better serve family businesses.

For more information, contact: Jill Perry, Relations Manager, 386-822-8994 or see our website at www.stetson.edu/departments/family.

The University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida

The John H. Sykes College of Business at The University of Tampa began the Florida Family Business of the Year Awards and Program in June 2001. The program’s goals are to recognize accomplishments of family owned businesses, and to raise awareness about the challenges facing them and the strategies and practices available. Reception for the event has been exceptional. For 2001, there were 140 nominees, and for 2002 there are over 240 nominees on a state-wide basis.

The awards program is a half-day event open to all family business professionals, policy makers, and scholars interested in the well-being and success of family businesses within Florida. The program begins with a series of workshops delivered by previous award winners and representatives of the program sponsors, and concludes with the presentation of awards at a luncheon.

The awards process serves to generate through brief survey questionnaires important information about the characteristics and practices of family businesses. This information, when presented in articles and reports, has proven immensely valuable in further educating family business members, shaping state and local policy, and improving the state-of-the-art in professional services directed at those businesses.

For more information contact: Joseph E. McCann III, Dean, John H. Sykes College of Business and Graduate Studies, The University of Tampa, (813) 258-7388 or e-mail: jmccann@ut.edu

University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee

The brand new First American Center for Closely Held Firms at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville is just getting off its feet. The Center, which officially opened in May 1998, started as a vehicle for its corporate sponsor, First American, to serve its community. Currently conducting research to determine the needs of Knoxville family businesses, the Center's mission is to become the resource for closely held firms in eastern Tennessee. Programs and activities will be driven by the needs and desires of the membership, according to Deborah Gunthorpe, director.

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas

The Neeley Entrepreneurship Center is active in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Texas business community, providing seminars for continuing education and honoring successful small businesses. Once a year, the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center hosts the Family Business Seminar to address the unique challenges of working in a family business. It is designed for TCU students and their parents as well as friends of TCU. Topics include: succession planning, developing family boards, conflict resolution, strategic planning and team building.

The seminar is led by one of the nation’s top family business experts, Sam Lane, PhD, of the Aspen Family Business Group. Dr. Lane has more than 23 years of experience helping family businesses achieve their long-term goals and ensure their continued viability. As a corporate psychologist specializing as a consultant to family business, he successfully creates and implements individualized approaches to the unique challenges faced by family business enterprises across the United States.

For more information, contact Brad Hancock, Assistant Director, Neeley Entrepreneurship Center, 817-257-5946 or visit www.nec.tcu.edu.

University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio

"Our mission is to foster education, information and networking among the family business community, and to incorporate family business issues into the curriculum and research of the College of Business Administration," says the University of Toledo's Center for Family Business director Debbe Skutch. Aware that actions speak louder than words, the Center has practiced its mission since 1992. Among its family business outreach programs: annual forums (which average 100 participants), quarterly newsletter, resource center and affinity groups. Currently, 132 members, which gross between $10-50 million, take advantage of the Center.

The Center's academic mission also has been tremendously successful. The newly implemented Entrepreneurship, Family and Small Business major has attracted 20 students; those students also may join the Family Business Student Association, which reports 40 members. Research has been a priority for the Center. Studies have been conducted during the past five years regarding such topics as women and family business, Myer's Briggs Personality Types in family business, and family business start-ups.

For more information, contact: Debbe Skutch, director, Center for Family Business, 419-530-4058

Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Tulane University Family Business Center (FBC) focuses on the issues and challenges that family businesses must overcome to grow and prosper from one generation to the next. The center offers four, full-day Family Business Forums and four Executive Breakfast Series programs per year.

The interactive Family Business Forums bring nationally recognized family business experts to New Orleans to speak in a solution-oriented setting. FBC members are exposed to the most up-to-date information on the issues faced by family businesses and to case studies of family businesses that have worked through these issues. In the past six months, member firms have begun to present their own case studies on issues they are working through.

The Executive Breakfast Series features presentations by leading professionals, Tulane faculty and Family Business Center sponsors. The series will keep members abreast of the most up-to-date information in today's business arena. The breakfast programs provide general business-enhancing information that also will make a significant contribution to any family business.

Members of the FBC receive the following benefits:

• Networking opportunities with other Center members who have experienced the unique challenges of the family-owned business.
• Access to information gathered by the FBC, including family business bibliographies, updates on the latest research and articles on family business, and a variety of additional notifications throughout the year on topics of interest to those involved in family business.
• Access to all of Tulane University's libraries and the family business collection housed in the business school library.
• Access to the Family Business Center video library.
• Subscription to the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship newsletter.
• Direct access to the FBC staff for discussion and referral on specific issues.

For more information, contact: Louisa Frederiksen, Assistant Director, Family Business Center, Tulane University, (504) 862-8482, louisa.frederiksen@tulane.edu.

University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont

The Family Business Initiative is a membership organization led by the University of Vermont's School of Business Administration.  Its goal is to provide Vermont businesses with the tools and support they need to compete in both the local and global arenas.  Through a series of forums that provide interactive learning, the free exchange of ideas, and the opportunity to share challenges and solutions to business issues, the initiative is committed to assisting both family businesses and closely held businesses as they evolve and strive to grow to their full potential. 

http://lenny.uvm.edu/Research/FamBus/default.htm 

Contact: Daniel G. Van Der Vliet, Outreach Coordinator, Vermont Business Center - Family Business Initiative, Office:  802-656-5897  Web:    http://learn.uvm.edu   

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

The Virginia Family Business Forum, housed in the School of Business at Virginia Commonwealth University, was established in 1994. Currently, 23 multigenerational family firms are active members. The Forum provides educational opportunities – on topics such as succession planning, developing an outside board of directors and employment of children – accompanied by development and networking opportunities for family businesses. A new undergraduate course, "Managing the Family Business," will be offered for the first time in fall 1999 as a result of the success of the Forum.

Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

In response to a request by the business community, Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of Management has made plans for a Family Business Initiative, set to launch in February 1999. Housed in the Center for Entrepreneurship, the Initiative will emphasize business education and host events that address family business issues. In its first year the organizers expect to enlist 50 members. "But that's just the tip of the iceberg," says Stan Mandel, director of the Center. "We are also making plans to serve the remainder of the family business community." The topic of family business also has been woven into Babcock's graduate-level curriculum. January 1999 marked the first offering of "Family Business Dynamics;" more than one-half of the students in the course have family business backgrounds.

For more information, contact: Stan Mandel, director, Center for Entrepreneurship, 336-758-3689

Warwick Business School, Coventry, England

Proving that family businesses are not a uniquely American tradition, Warwick Business School conducted research revealing the economic impact that family businesses have in the United Kingdom. The School's Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises identified approximately 78 percent of all firms in the U.K. as family businesses, averaging 35 employees and earnings of nearly $500,000. To assist these companies, the Centre runs a series of 10-month-long programs on topics such as business growth and developing strategic awareness.

William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey

The Center for Closely Held Business is dedicated to the success of family and closely held firms in the northern NJ region. Developed by and for successful business leaders, the Center creates value by leveraging the strengths of the Cotsakos College of Business at William Paterson University and the closely held and family business in its community. Among the resources offered are: practical hands-on workshops, real-world case studies, presentations by industry experts, peer-to-peer problem solving and peer mentoring. The Center for Closely Held Business provides a supportive, professional, non-competitive and non-commercial environment in which colleagues can share challenges, issues, proven solutions and best practices.

For more information contact: Sandra Deller, Vice President for Institutional Development, 973-720-2615

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin

The School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is setting out to meet the specialized needs of Wisconsin businesses. For example, the school has designed unique programs to help maintain the economic health of two important sectors of the economy: agriculture and family business. One of only a few agribusiness MBA programs in the U.S., the Executive MBA program in agribusiness trains farmers in areas such as finance, management, marketing and leadership. The skills learned in these courses prepare farmers to compete in today’s increasingly sophisticated farming environment. Working with four local private funding partners, the School of Business also founded the U.W. Family Business Center, which provides education on issues related to family businesses and creates opportunities for members to build beneficial relationships with their community peers. Members, ranging from small- to medium-sized companies with revenues of $3 million to $100 million, can participate in round table discussions and lecture series, and have access to a comprehensive business information center.

For more information, contact: Helen Capellero, director, public relations, 608-262-9213

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

In 1994, interested business owners and family business professionals met with the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh's dean of the College of Business Administration to discuss the development of a center that would serve the special needs of family businesses in the Oshkosh community. Two years later the Wisconsin Family Business Forum was born. The Forum helps families identify issues they need to address, learn professional management techniques, benefit from the past experiences of other members and assist the next generation in developing leadership skills. As one Forum member explained, "The Forum forces me to think about family business issues on a regular basis and provides peer group opportunities unlike any other in the area."

Six to eight educational programs are offered each year, with such varied presenters as Forum members and sponsors, owners of major regional family businesses and national family business experts. Current members include a second-generation wholesaler of petroleum and automotive after-market products with $400 million in sales that employs 800 people (including 11 family members) and a fourth-generation construction company with $50 million in sales that employs 48 people.

For more information, contact Susan Schierstedt, director, Family Business Forum, 920-424-2257