MU | F e a t u r e s
A
basement in Wabash, Ind., may
seem an unlikely setting for
innovative student learning
and business development.
But that’s kind of the point.
North Manchester and
Wabash need unconventional thinking to
grow, and Manchester University students are
helping to provide it.
A year ago, the Economic Development
Group (EDG) of Wabash County,
Manchester University and INGUARD – a
Wabash-based insurance and risk management
firm – announced a partnership to support
entrepreneurs. The program, Entrepreneurs
EDG, is helping to coach fledgling business
owners on how to establish and launch a
business, then grow and succeed. Under the
guidance of Professor Joe Messer, teams of
MU students research, develop and execute
“where great ideas can come together.” In
turn, the real-world experience the students
get helps them contribute to the community
and gives them a jump start on their careers.
“The value of the University to this is
immeasurable,” says Keith Gillenwater,
president and CEO of the EDG of Wabash
County. Having MU in the backyard gives
the local business community access to its
College of Business expertise and young
talent graduating through its programs in
accounting, sales, marketing and management.
“Selfishly,” says Gillenwater, “we’re trying
to build in stickiness to it,” meaning that
students who get involved in entrepreneurship
and economic development before they
graduate are more likely to stay and engage in
the community after they graduate.
“The program challenges students to think creatively
and solve real-world problems.”
– Joe Messer
Mark E. Johnston Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies
strategies tailored to the specific needs of the
entrepreneur.
The program is one example of how – from
North Manchester to Wabash to Warsaw to
Fort Wayne – the University is helping to
drive economic development in northeast
Indiana. New academic programs such as
pharmacogenomics and sales are meeting
emerging needs. And all over, internships and
partnerships are fueling the region’s economic
engine.
In Wabash, INGUARD owner Parker
Beauchamp is providing his company’s
remodeled basement as space for the business
incubator where people can collaborate and
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Entrepreneurs EDG helps Messer’s
students develop acumen to become future
entrepreneurs and business leaders. “The
program challenges them to think creatively
and solve real-world problems,” adds
Messer, the Mark E. Johnston Professor of
Entrepreneurial Studies. Messer is teaching
students to use the Business Model Canvas, a
strategic management tool that helps identify
problems and map solutions. Economic
development groups in northeast Indiana’s 11
counties are learning to use the Canvas too,
says Messer, so MU students trained in its use
will be prepared to lead when they graduate.
Beauchamp, a Wabash native who runs the
business his great-grandfather purchased
On Page 19: Tiana Maclin ’17 was one of three MU
students in this year’s Greater Fort Wayne Fellows
class. Alex Corn ’17 (above), spent his summer
internship with the Economic Development Group
of Wabash County; and (top) pharmacogenomics
students Kara Olson ’17 (left) and Emily Brick ’17
work on an assignment in the lab.