Centers
The College of Business is home to four Centers that support development and research for local businesses and promote economic and financial literacy through external partnerships. These include the Center for Economic Development, the Center for Business Research, the Center for Economic Education, and the Small Business Development Center.
Center for Economic Development
The Center for Economic Development serves to assist area jurisdictions in their efforts to promote economic development of the region. The Center functions as a central point of contact to connect UMW faculty and students with regional initiatives and businesses seeking their assistance, such as through the University’s partnership with the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance.
A number of separate units and initiatives are a part of the Center for Economic Development. These initiatives include EagleWorks Business Incubator, StartUpUMW, and Eagle Innovation Pitch Competition. Services are available to any existing or startup small business or potential entrepreneur. StartUpUMW is a student entrepreneur education program focused on developing the essential skills and effective strategies for starting and running a business. EagleWorks is an incubator for the local community in which entrepreneurs work in a space to get their businesses up and running. Eagle Innovation is a business pitch competition open to all UMW and Germanna Community College students. Students pitch their ideas to a panel of alumni and business professionals for prize money to fund their startup ideas.
Center for Business Research
The Center for Business Research collaboratively plans and conducts research activities by the College of Business (COB) faculty and interested UMW faculty members from the UMW Colleges of Arts and Science and Education, based on their interest and skill sets for regional impact-related activities in the future. It is, however, primarily driven by the collaborative efforts of the COB faculty.
As a local source for regional economic analysis and expertise, the Center was strategically created as a part of UMW’s College of Business to capitalize on access to highly regarded faculty and opportunities for student engagement. Through internships and employment opportunities, the Center provides hands-on learning opportunities for students to assist the Center’s faculty in the research and preparation of reports on the regional economy. The Director is Dr. Lance Gentry, and he may be reached at cgentry@umw.edu.
Center for Economic Education
The UMW Center for Economic Education was established in 2011 as part of the Virginia Council on Economic Education (VCEE). The VCEE works in partnership with colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia through a statewide network of university-based centers for economic education. The mission of the UMW Center for Economic Education is to build ongoing partnerships with the region’s school division and their teachers, provide professional development workshops for teaches, and provide creative, hands-on lesson plans, curriculum and programs for students. These efforts are with the goal of effectively infusing economic and financial education in grades K-12 to promote economic and financial literacy.
Our director for UMW’s Center for Economic Education is Dr. Amrita Dhar. She can be reached at adhar@umw.edu. Dr. Dhar is an Associate Professor of Economics at Mary Washington, and she is excited to oversee the operations and events of UMW’s Center for Economic Education! Outside of being the director, her research and interests focus on international economics, monetary policy, forecasting, and applied econometrics.
Small Business Development Center
Welcome to the University of Mary Washington Small Business Development Center (UMW SBDC) inspires and enables entrepreneurs and their organizations to pursue economic growth through education, consulting, connecting, and supportive research. The UMW SBDC serves Go Virginia Region 6 between Stafford County to the Chesapeake Bay. We have served the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Greater Fredericksburg Regions since 1992 with a distinctive commitment to entrepreneurship, business vitality and economic development collaboration. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helps entrepreneurs and small businesses establish, manage, and expand their organizations. The SBDC provides one-on-one counseling and research services at no cost, and it offers seminars and training programs in all aspects of small business management at low costs.
The Director of the SBDC, Susan Ball, can be reached at sball2@umw.edu.