Leaders emerge at Kenyon College

Emerging Leaders from Kenyon College are gearing up for a Business Development Grant competition late in the spring term.

Four grants of $500 will be awarded at the end of the year to freshmen, who can use the money next year to help shape business plans. The $500 grants can be applied toward market research, developing prototypes, and other activities associated with the development of a business plan.

The development-grant winners will be eligible to compete for Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurship Prizes in 2010. This money - two grants of $5,000 each -- will enable winning students to launch their businesses during their junior or senior year.

The Emerging Leaders program was instituted last fall for first-year students. It kicked off with a weekend retreat attended by 28 students at Mohican State Park near Loudonville. Students chosen for the program engaged in workshops to develop entrepreneurial awareness, negotiation skills, leadership, and team behavior. During the retreat, student consulting teams developed recommendations for a small business located in nearby Mount Vernon.

Back on campus in Granville, the program continued with workshops on a variety of topics related to entrepreneurship. These workshops were open to the whole student body, faculty and staff, thus extending the program's impact to the entire college community.

The Emerging Leaders Program complements the work of Kenyon's Burton D. Morgan Lectureship Series, which brings highly successful Kenyon alumni to campus to discuss the influence of a liberal arts education on their professional careers.

This year Kenyon alum and Altair Advisors LLC wealth manager Richard Black told students, "I always felt that my liberal arts background gave me an unfair advantage in business."