“There’s a real hunger for entrepreneurship in Mississippi,” said Dibrell, UM associate professor of management. “The demand is strong, and we have a large number of innovative, smart students. It would be great to try to keep them in-state, rather than see them go to Nashville, Atlanta or Dallas. We want students to use their talents here.”
Pending final approval, UM business Dean Ken Cyree is hopeful a new entrepreneurship minor in the Bachelor of Business Administration program will help accomplish that goal. The new minor – set to launch this fall – offers a menu of several courses, including venture capital financing, small business management, venture regulations, entrepreneurial leadership and family business management.
“We have a lot of family-owned businesses here in Mississippi,” Cyree said. “These small businesses are the engine and will be the drivers of our economy over the next few decades. It’s important for us to help educate, inform and train our students in this area.”
That task falls on the shoulders of faculty members such as Dibrell, who as a Peace Corps volunteer taught entrepreneurship in Kenya at both a polytechnical school and a church-sponsored cooperative. The greatest difference between African and American entrepreneurs is the level of expertise and knowledge, he said.
“The Africans have to be much more persistent and innovative with fewer resources,” Dibrell explained. “The biggest project I helped organize was a bead co-op with about 1,500 women, so they could export their goods to nongovernmental organizations like Oxfam.”
As a Fulbright Scholar, Dibrell taught international business and entrepreneurship in Warsaw, Poland, and he also guest teaches occasionally at Bond University on Australia’s Gold Coast. Before joining the UM faculty in August, Dibrell taught for nine years at Oregon State University. His goal with the proposed entrepreneurship minor is to create more jobs and increase economic development across the state.
“Mississippi lacks corporate entities, so small businesses dominate the landscape here,” Dibrell said. “We need more businesses and we want to be more successful.”
Cyree agreed, saying entrepreneurship is important to Mississippi, which ranks in the mid-20s nationwide on entrepreneurial-led businesses. The new minor was championed by concerned university alumni, Cyree said.
“We’ve had some students voice their concerns (in favor of) the new minor, but most of the push has come from alumni,” Cyree said. “They support this effort and believe it’s necessary.”
Entrepreneurs play an essential role in business, said Bill Fry, CEO of Oreck Corp., and an alumnus pushing the minor. A 1980 UM graduate and former CEO of Bell Sports, he believes entrepreneurs will play an important role in leading the country out of its recession as old businesses fade, consumer needs change and new industries arise to meet changing needs.
“Entrepreneurs are able to see and take advantage of opportunities, creating both jobs and wealth,” Fry said. “The vast majority of jobs created over the past 20 years have been created by small businesses, not large ones. The same will be true coming out of this recession.”
Fry, who also holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, is excited about the new entrepreneurship minor. Just as entrepreneurs dream big, the new entrepreneurship minor will help do the same for the UM business school, he said.
“The state of Mississippi and Ole Miss are much more likely to create jobs and wealth by fostering entrepreneurs than by filling the ranks of large companies,” he said.
A native of Franklin, Tenn., and the son of a businessman, Dibrell received his bachelor’s degree from Lambuth University and both his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Memphis, where he studied strategic business and international management.
While working as a small business adviser in Africa, Dibrell said he realized he wanted to teach. He declined a corporate position in telecommunications and opted to follow his academic pursuits.
“I like the academic lifestyle,” he said. “I love helping students, and I enjoy the research.”
To learn more, visit http://www.olemissbusiness.com.