University Times

Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business has opened an umbrella institute to manage activities of three of its centers. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence was established to consolidate support for entrepreneurs from start-up to mature businesses. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC), established at Katz in 1979, and the Family Enterprise Center (FEC), established in 1996, together with the newly created Entrepreneurial Fellows Center will make up the institute.

Ann Dugan will serve as executive director of the new institute. Dugan had been director of both the SBDC and FEC prior to the appointment.

The fellows center is recruiting its first class from among entrepreneurs in mid-market, high-growth companies. The program begins in January 1999. The center offers leading-edge business management education under the supervision of successful local entrepreneurs who act as mentors.

The small business center is a federal- and state-funded program offering one-on-one management consulting services for start-up and emerging businesses. The family center functions as a learning community to meet the unique needs of mature family-owned businesses through research and educational programs.