Building The Community

By: Geri Zabitz Badler Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

Denver’s School Partners Program Does More Than Get Businesses Into The Classroom

Building The Community What do Denver Broncos cornerback Drè Bly, Comcast, car dealer DriveTime and Kiewit Building Group have in common? All are partnering with a local public school to help make a difference in the community as part of the Denver Public Schools Foundation’s School Partners Program.

They’re among some 50 Denver businesses and organizations that help their partner school in a variety of ways, including on-site volunteering, in-kind donations and financial gifts. There are no specific requirements of time or money, just a commitment to make a difference. Partners and schools are individually matched, according to needs and what a business can offer.

As with any partnership, there needs to be chemistry and commitment from both parties. When those elements fall into place, businesses find there are many benefits to their school partnerships. Partners report a new sense of teamwork and often a boost in staff retention. Most of the businesses that began in year one are still with the program, now in its third year, and several businesses have even partnered with multiple schools.

Getting Started

School partnership programs have been around since the 1970s, often as an outgrowth of older “Adopt a School” type programs. In today’s model, however, programs put more emphasis on finding mutual benefits to both schools and businesses, with partners using their unique resources to help improve schools and student achievement.

For Denver, the program launched shortly after Michael Bennet became superintendent of Denver Public Schools (DPS). He included community engagement as a critical piece of The Denver Plan, his strategic plan to reform Denver Public Schools.

In 2006, with funding from Qwest and the Daniels Fund, the School Partners Program was launched as an initiative of the Denver Public Schools Foundation. The program was shaped by research from the Daniels Fund that identified seven key strategies for successful School-Business Partnerships. The program’s mission is to engage businesses and organizations in long-term, sustainable relationships with DPS schools.

Piloted in the fall of 2006 with 20 schools, the School Partners Program has grown to 60 schools with approximately 50 partners. The program continues to be operated with funding from Qwest. Partners range from very small companies like Sunfire LED, a two-person LED lighting distribution firm that mentors at-risk students at Manual High School, to Fortune 500 firms like Western Union and Comcast. How It Works

Each year, the School Partners Program does an inventory of the needs of participating schools. Prospective businesses are interviewed and matched with potential schools, followed by site visits. Once there is a match, a program agreement is signed, spelling out how the business plans to partner with the school. The school district handles volunteer forms and background checks for those working with students on a regular basis. School principals or other staff work directly with partners to ensure that the relationship is functioning smoothly. An annual survey is conducted to assess the program and make improvements.

Successful Collaborations

Many businesses come to the program wanting to share a specific skill or knowledge with students. Pat Mulhern of Mulhern Engineering was disturbed by the decreasing number of U.S. students going into engineering, and personally contacted the school district to get involved. Mulhern’s firm was matched with Grant Middle School, where his staff is working directly with Grant’s science and math teachers in an effort to spark interest in the field of engineering.

Cable giant Comcast has supported local schools in the past, but they thought a more hands-on approach would give employees a focus as well as a school to call their own. By teaming up with Montbello High School’s broadcasting program, they offer students real-life experiences filming high school sports events. The school receives financial help to purchase much needed equipment. Hundreds of Comcast volunteers also give their time to spruce up the school grounds on their annual Comcast Cares Day each spring.

The development of a new employee volunteer program brought Western Union into the program last summer. Their partnership with the Denver Center for International Studies (DCIS) was a perfect fit, as they brought international resources to this middle/high school that focuses on global education. Currently, employees are developing a special math curriculum for DCIS based on international currencies. In addition, projects like organizing the DCIS Travel Center and painting the school’s Resource Room have given Western Union some wonderful team-building activities.

However, not all partners are involved in projects that relate to their professional expertise. Kiewit Building Group wanted to work directly with students on literacy. With a company-wide commitment, Kiewit supplies “Reading Buddies” three to four times a week to Doull Elementary School, where employees work directly with students who read below grade level. They have also instituted a number of enrichment programs, including a Colorado state geography lesson and mini-Science Fair. “Our people get just as much out of it as the students,” said Mike Colpack, senior vice president for Kiewit Building Group. “Trying to help someone learn helps us grow individually. It keeps us connected and helps us understand some of the challenges in our community. There’s no better feeling than helping kids improve and learn.”

Today’s students are tomorrow’s work force and community leaders. If they are well-educated, prepared and supported, the city will be a healthy, vibrant place to live, work and visit. Businesses new to town are often looking for ways to connect with the community. DriveTime, a national used car dealership, opened their Denver office in 2007 and wanted to work with a local school. Through the School Partners Program, they partnered with Colfax Elementary School. They collaborated with Colfax’s other School Partner, AVMusic, to collect enough school supplies for each Colfax student to begin the year.

Other partners work hard to make the holidays special for students and their families. With 66 percent of DPS students receiving free or reduced lunch – a key indicator of poverty – providing a holiday meal and gifts can be a stress on many families.

This November, employees from Clayton Fixed Income Services delivered overflowing Thanksgiving food baskets to Cole Arts and Science Academy. Across town, Denver Broncos cornerback Drè Bly and his foundation delivered 500 turkeys and side dishes to families at his partner school, Place Bridge Academy, the DPS school serving recent immigrants and refugees. Last year, Patton Boggs’ Denver law office gave each student at their partner school, Garden Place Academy, a holiday gift and a coloring book, which employees distributed at the school’s holiday party and neighborhood caroling night.

Paying It Forward

Matching a business with the right school is key, but finding the business is often a bigger challenge. Partners with a successful relationship with their schools are often the best form of advertising for the program. Dovetail Solutions, a local marketing and public relations firm, has partnered with Columbian Elementary for two years and has spread the word to clients such as Studley, a leading commercial real estate firm. Studley now has its own successful partnership with Ellis Elementary School, and sends employee volunteers weekly.

Why Partnerships Work

Partnering with a school gives businesses a common cause and focus. More and more employees have established employee volunteer programs; some give employees paid time off to give back. Whether it’s collecting school supplies in September, purchasing small gifts for student incentives or teacher appreciation, or helping with a school beautification project, both parties win.

Says Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, “Investing in our kids and education is the best investment we can make in economic development, public safety and the future of Denver.”

For more information on the School Partners Program, please log on to www.denverspp.org.

Are We Accountable For The Right Things?

By: Jacki Paone Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

Balancing Priorities Pits our Children’s Education Against Economic Issues

Are We Accountable Baldridge… ISO… NCLB… What do these have in common? Targets, benchmarks, success indicators, progress reports, accountability. NCLB (No Child Left Behind) was passed by Congress in 2001 and signed into law in January 2002. It included a major overhaul to the Federal ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) of 1965 school funding authorization. The major focus of NCLB was and is to “provide all children with a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.”1

According to the U.S. Department of Education, “No Child Left Behind is based on stronger accountability for results, more freedom for states and communities, proven education methods, and more choices for parents.”2

It includes intense scrutiny of schools’ education offerings and accountability for successful outcomes for students. Accountability is aimed not only for students in the mainstream, but specifically for those students affected by physical handicaps, learning disabilities, language differences and so on. Equitable opportunity for all and accountability for success remain buzzwords of NCLB.

Most would agree that the intent of NCLB is noble and that it has focused considerable attention on providing more equitable education opportunities for children. This attention has resulted in improvements toward closing achievement gaps between white, more affluent students and their peers. At the same time, however, there have been concerns raised about NCLB. The National Education Association, for example, states that NCLB “established goals everyone supports: high standards and accountability for the learning of all children. But NCLB falls short of its goals for many reasons.”3

Many concerns are directed specifically at its accountability requirements such as meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) which uses state standardized tests in math and reading, holding schools accountable based on how many students achieve a specific point on one test in each of these two subjects.

Although there are those who believe that the concerns are based on education “whining” and educators’ unwillingness to initiate meaningful reform, most educators grapple with using data in meaningful ways. “For data-driven instruction to transform schooling – which it can – it must serve a master very different from rigid accountability formulas. It must aim to help students from all backgrounds attain an authentic 21st century education.”4

Education’s most important product, students prepared for today’s global world, is one of the greatest challenges in implementing NCLB in schools with diverse student populations. This can set up roadblocks for the system to achieve success. We must overcome these roadblocks so that in the words of Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, “success in school can serve as the foundation for success beyond school.” For all children to learn, we must utilize varied teaching techniques within varied timeframes depending on the student’s background and learning style. Accountability for success must consider the variables and provide the resources to ensure success. However, lacking widespread consensus about how NCLB’s accountability system can be improved, it is increasingly more important that educators and opinion leaders from stakeholders as diverse as our students undertake serious discussion, reach broader agreement and agree on how to adjust NCLB.

Measurement Tools Are Woefully Inadequate

Researchers across the country measure student success along with the factors that lead to success (or not). The range of methodologies is wide as researchers and educators grapple with defining specific techniques, variables and resources that affect student learning. The research studies often yield conflicting results due to methods, uncontrolled variables and/or limitations of funding resources. Longitudinal measurement studies hold promise for the strongest research conclusions and are likely to provide the best information about which reforms make a positive difference in student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (www.dataqualitycampaign.org) lists ten data elements that are critical to a longitudinal data system: unique and stable statewide student identifiers connecting student data across key databases across years; student-level enrollment, demographic and program participation information; the ability to match individual students’ test records from year to year; information on untested students and why they were not tested; a teacher identifier system with the ability to match teachers to students; information on student courses completed and grades earned; information on student participation in and performance on college admissions and/or college level assessments; information on college enrollment and dropout data; the ability to match student records between the P-12 and higher education systems; and, a state data audit system assessing data quality, validity and reliability. While these should be considered the basic data requirements, only five states report having all ten elements.

Educators are encouraged to use these data tools to make data-based decisions. Considering the wide availability and variability of research, educators need training in how to effectively use the data. “…the process of translating assessment into instructional decision making is far from easy.”5

However, schools that lack the financial resources to purchase the most basic school supplies are hard-pressed to spend funds to train classroom teachers in effectively using data to improve instruction.

Data About Teachers Lacks Clear Links To Student Achievement

Research has shown that the single most important factor in a student’s learning is his/her teacher. However, since there are many other factors affecting a student’s learning - family environment, living conditions, poverty etc. - teachers fear that linking student data to individual teachers will have the affect of blaming teachers for problems that have resulted from a variety of external factors. Resolving this apparent contradiction in order to improve data is a work in progress, with Colorado among the states working on solutions.

Although some 21 states report that they are able to link teacher and student data (www.dataqualitycampaign.org), little data is available.

Colorado, for example, has been working for nearly three years on designing a unique teacher identifier. The issue is not the technical creation of the identifier, but how the identifier will be used to link data. Colorado legislation in 2007'6

created a Quality Teachers Commission (QTC), whose duty was to come to agreement about whether an identifier would be appropriate and if so, how. The QTC unanimously recommended in June 2008 that a pilot educator (teacher and principal) identifier be established. To satisfy the concerns about potential misuse, the QTC recommended protections:7

The teacher/principal identifier is not intended to sanction teachers or principals through decisions about salary, promotion, or evaluation. However, the commission feels strongly about ensuring that these protections are enacted quickly to meet the growing demand for data-driven efforts. The commission suggested:

Data linked with a unique educator identifier should be used to support required reports, research, and support systems aimed at improving teacher and/or principal quality.

Because school districts retain control of hiring, dismissal, salary decisions, and evaluation of individual educators, the state must not use data linked with an educator ID to penalize an individual teacher, principal, or group of educators.

The state must not use the data linked with a teacher and principal identifier to penalize a district.

The state must not use the data linked with a teacher and principal identifier to penalize a teacher or principal preparation program.

When examining complex issues, such as teacher quality, principal quality, and school improvement, multiple data points should be used and the context should be provided. Quick assumptions should be avoided.

To avoid identification of individual teachers, public reporting of data should be restricted when the reporting size is small. Colorado Department of Education (CDE) should consider existing caps as a guide to protect individuals.

Individuals’ personal contact information should not be shared externally.

Existing CDE committees, such as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Education Data Advisory Committee (EDAC), should recommend to the State Board of Education who can access various levels of specified data in the tiered system.

As the QTC crafts a bill for introduction in the 2009 legislative session to create the educator identifier pilot, its progress will be closely watched by educators and policymakers alike. Reporting Requirements of NCLB Take Significant Time and Resources From Local School Districts and State

Departments of Education

Ensuring accountability with the requirements of NCLB has resulted in extensive reporting by state agencies. They, in turn, require reports from school districts about student achievement for individual students specifically within certain categories. Such reports are necessary in an accountability system. One of the reasons for high cost and inefficiencies is inadequate technology. Some states have spent millions of dollars to upgrade data systems which may not be compatible with those in local school districts. A strong data infrastructure is critical to ensure effective and efficient reporting of results. However, states let alone school districts, can ill afford spending more dollars in today’s tight economy.

Although some federal funding has been available to support pilot states’ efforts at improving technology, the amount is far from adequate.

States set varied standards such as the requirements for the Federal “highly qualified” teachers

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) requires that each and every student be taught by a highly qualified teacher. The DOE requires that to be highly qualified a teacher must hold at least a bachelor’s degree, have full state certification or licensure, and have demonstrated competence in their subject areas.8

Each state, however, develops its own certification/licensure requirements as well as how it will measure demonstrated competence in a subject area. Therefore, a highly qualified teacher in New York,9

for example, could be much different from a highly qualified teacher in Utah.10

Even more important is the fact that most educators acknowledge that being a highly qualified teacher is not necessarily the same as being an effective teacher. “In the recent Aspen Institute report, Beyond NCLB (Commission on No Child Left Behind, 2007), 11

written to guide the re-authorization of NCLB, the Commission defines ‘effective’ in terms of a teacher’s ability to improve student achievement as measured on standardized tests. The Commission draws upon studies using value-added methodologies to argue that in the NCLB reauthorization, emphasis should be placed on developing data systems that allow states and districts to identify those effective teachers who contribute to children’s achievement growth each year. This is a shift from a focus on qualifications to describe teacher quality to a focus on achievement outcomes.”12

Our Priorities

With the unarguable need to compete globally in an ever-expanding market, one of the nation’s current education priorities is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education; the focus is on teaching the STEM skills to more students and recruiting these students into the STEM careers. In order to succeed at this outstanding vision, however, we also need to attract and retain qualified individuals to teach STEM skills. Will we be able to maintain teachers with STEM skills when their starting salary is just over $30,000 compared to starting as an engineer with a salary upwards of $50,000?13

Sadly, we are rapidly stealing time and the potential for success from the very students we hope to assist. While policymakers, educators, researchers and funders argue about the how and why, our children continue to funnel through the system with too many of them lacking the opportunity to a quality education.

Public education HAS come a long way. There ARE numerous examples of success. Some successes are in charter schools or other innovative school structures; some successes are within schools where leaders have taken the challenge head on; however, many lack the resources to attempt or continue toward such success.

Why is it that we continue to spend our dollars on sports teams, business buyouts and crude oil while schools across the country lack resources, proper classrooms and most importantly, consistent teacher quality? Why is it that non-profits focused on the state and local policies with the greatest potential to impact reform, struggle with sustainability? Why is it that funders put their dollars into glitzy one-shot attempts and consumers buy season tickets to baseball games when children lack adequate facilities, quality teachers, and a chance at success?

Until our nation focuses its priorities with education at the top of the list, we will not succeed in meeting the challenges of a global economy and in recruiting top companies to our soils.

Jacki Paone is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Teaching, Denver CO. Her career and volunteer experience, grounded in a belief in equity of education, health and lifestyle for all children included founding a Western New York non-profit aiding Vietnamese war orphans.

Prior to moving to Denver, she was Executive Director of the Erie County (NY) Association of School Boards, a position she held for seven years. Her duties included planning and executing school board member development activities, government relations and advocacy for public education. Her work also included collaborative activities to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of the public schools in Erie County.

Mrs. Paone’s career in public education included serving as Director of Communications for the Williamsville Central School District (NY) where she developed and administered a system-wide public relations program.

As a member of the Executive Board of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), Mrs. Paone served as president in 1993-94. She also served as president of the New York School Public Relations Association and the Western New York School Public Relations Association.

The Performance Excellence Journey

By: Sharon Clinebell Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

Student-Focused Strategies That Are High-Touch, Wide-Tech, and Professional Depth

The Performance Excellence In an article about the 2004 Baldrige recipients, USA Today noted, “Business schools preach quality, but Harvard wasn’t the first Baldrige winner for practicing what it preaches.” The only business school to ever receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is the Monfort College of Business at the University of Northern Colorado. It is only one of three higher education institutions to ever achieve that recognition.

Although the Monfort College of Business received the Baldrige Award with its second application and its first Baldrige site visit, the beginning of its quality journey began years ago. In 1984, a group of committed faculty met and decided to pursue AACSB accreditation, a special accreditation for business schools. This decision led to many subsequent decisions such as focusing on the undergraduate only niche with a goal to be the best undergraduate business program in Colorado. This commitment to quality led to many milestones. In 1992, Monfort became the first public business school in Colorado to be accredited by AACSB in both business administration and accounting and is currently the only undergraduate program that holds both accreditations. In 2000, the Monfort College of Business was recognized by the Colorado Commission of Higher Education as a Program of Excellence, which is a highly selective and prestigious award. The Monfort College of Business is the only business program to ever earn the Program of Excellence award. In 2004, the College was awarded the Timberline Award from Colorado Performance Excellence and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

In the foyer of Kepner Hall, which houses the Monfort College of Business, there is a piece of art that contains three pillars. The College views those three pillars as symbolizing three pillars of excellence: (1) a singular focus on excellence in undergraduate business education, (2) program delivery of high-touch, wide-tech, and professional depth, and (3) high value. The commitment to excellence in undergraduate business education is a direct result of the decision in 1984 to devote all resources to developing and maintaining an excellent undergraduate business program and to fulfill a niche of undergraduate business education in the state of Colorado.

The Monfort College of Business has a student-focused strategy of high-touch, wide-tech, and professional depth.

High-touch refers to the high-quality faculty/student interaction, which is facilitated by small class sizes. This low faculty-to-student ratio helps the College provide a private school atmosphere at a public school cost. As an undergraduate only program, no graduate assistants are used in the college. Professors teach the classes, work with students on projects, advise students, and serve as advisors to student organizations. Wide-tech refers to the integration of technology throughout the curriculum. The Monfort gift supports the integration of industry-standard technologies throughout the college, including specific technology such as Bloomberg, Standard and Poor’s Research Insight, and other industry-standard technology and databases. By using this technology for classes, students are better prepared to enter the workforce at a high level of performance and some employers report that Monfort students have a shorter learning curve because of this preparation. Professional depth refers to the value Monfort places on professional experience and real-world applications. The Monfort Executive Professor program, which brings experienced professionals to the classroom, has been in place since the early 1990s.

Students and their parents recognize the great value of a degree from the College. The Denver Post noted that the Monfort College of Business was possibly “the best bargain in undergraduate business education anywhere in America right now.” Small class sizes, professors teaching all classes, great student scores on exit exams aligned with lower tuition relative to competitors make the College a great educational value.

University of Nebraska-LincolnThe Monfort College of Business’s student-focused strategy of high-touch, wide-tech, and professional depth leads to a high-quality educational experience for its students, which is reflected in the school’s student-focused results. Another cornerstone of the College has been its long-standing commitment to fact-based decision making through assessment and benchmarking. The College has used assessment tools such as the ETS Business Major Field Exam for many years. Monfort was engaged in benchmarking from the earliest available administration of a business school benchmarking tool. The culture of student focus and fact-based decision making provided a framework for the College for its adoption of the Baldrige model for performance excellence.

When reviewing the Baldrige categories of Leadership; Strategic Planning; Student, Stakeholder, and Market Focus; Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management; Workforce Focus; Process Management; and Results for the College, the common theme is the student-centered framework.

Leadership

The formal leadership of the College is comprised of the Dean, Assistant Dean, and Directors of each school, which makes up the Administrative Council. However, there is a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and shared leadership. Faculty chair cross-functional teams, which oversee the processes related to curriculum, faculty issues, student issues, and technology and make recommendations to the Dean and the Administrative Council.

Strategic Planning

Given strategic planning is an integral part of business education, Monfort practices what it preaches. The college’s mission, vision, and values are clearly articulated and taken into account when engaging in strategic planning practices. The College recently completed multi-day strategic planning sessions, which utilized standard strategic planning processes such as conducting a SWOT analysis of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats as a starting point for discussions of strategic options.

Student, Stakeholder, and Market Knowledge

The low faculty-to-student ratio facilitates interaction and communication between faculty and students. Formally, students are surveyed each year and at the end of their program to assess their satisfaction with the program. Alumni are also surveyed to assess how well they feel they were prepared for their careers. The College builds relationships with students through functions such as the annual spring picnic for faculty, staff, and students. The College also works closely with community colleges and high schools to both gain and give information regarding prospective students.

Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management.

Based on its mission, vision, and values, Monfort developed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which are used to assess performance and to identify the need, if any, for appropriate corrective action. The College had been committed to benchmarking since the mid-1990s, predating its interest in the Baldrige Award. The long tradition of benchmarking has been very helpful in the performance excellence journey. The benchmarking data have been used to drive improvements. Data from a variety of benchmarking sources and surveys are collected and assessed and data are provided to the appropriate decision makers.

Workforce Focus

The College uses a variety of rewards and recognition programs for faculty and students to recognize outstanding performance. Students are recognized through scholarships and academic awards. Students vote for their favorite professor in each area. Faculty, through the committee structure, also recognize fellow faculty in areas of teaching, research, and service.

Process Management

The main learning-centered processes such as curriculum and assessment are managed internally within the College through a variety of committees. As a member of the wider university, the College partners with other colleges and departments at the University of Northern Colorado for many support processes, such as facilities, library support, admissions, and career services.

The student-centered processes briefly outlined above yield outstanding results. In 2004, when the Monfort College of Business received the Baldrige Award, its senior students scored in the top 10 percentile of business students nationally on the ETS Business Major Field Exam. Showing commitment to continuous improvement, seniors have scored in the top 5 percentile three of the last five years, with the other two years at the 10 percentile level. ETS only reports at the 5 percentile increments, making 95 percentile the highest score that can be attained. Student satisfaction scores on national benchmarking surveys continue to be in the top 10%. Additionally, students’ response to the question of whether they would recommend the Monfort College of Business to a friend is also in the top 10% nationally.

The students at Monfort continually show their business knowledge in competitions against larger and more well-known schools. Finance students won the competition for growth managers at the annual Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) conference. Marketing students won first place in the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation’s Collegiate ECHO Competition. Tax students compete in a tax challenge and have won the regional conference multiple times advancing to national competition.

Students at the Monfort College of Business have a comprehensive curriculum. Half of the students’ coursework must be non-business courses, resulting in a well-rounded graduate. The business coursework emphasizes solid business fundamental knowledge as well as hands-on learning. Many business classes apply classroom knowledge to real-world applications.

The Student and Foundation Fund (SAFF) class manages an approximately $1 million fund provided by the University of Northern Colorado Foundation.

The class members are held to the same expectations and standards as the professional investment managers. Students must report their results to their client at the end of each semester. Since the class’ inception in 1992, students have generally outperformed the professional managers. Another hands-on learning experience is provided by the Small Business Counseling class, in which students provide consulting services to small businesses. Marketing classes work with real businesses on developing marketing techniques such as direct marketing, marketing research, and advertising. Many other classes use real-world cases and applications in the classroom. Upon graduation, Monfort students have worked with real businesses and have gained professional experience.

The Monfort College of Business supports several student organizations in which students are encouraged to participate. These student organizations provide additional learning experiences and serve as another venue for students to learn about their chosen fields. Guest speakers to the student organizations help students to better understand the career choices available to them. The student chapter of the Financial Management Association holds a career day in Denver at the National Association of Security Dealers (NASD) regional office. Financial professionals from varied backgrounds speak to students about career opportunities. The honorary society, Beta Alpha Psi, hosts a Meet the Firm night for accounting students, where primarily CPA firms meet with students prior to formal recruiting, and a Career Day where Accounting professionals have panel sessions outlining career opportunities in their areas. Beta Alpha Psi also conducted a Fraud and Ethics Day, bringing in experts from a wide variety of business perspectives to speak about ethical issues in business. These are only a few ways that student organizations enrich students’ learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

The Monfort College of Business also partners with the University of Northern Colorado Foundation and other entities to bring well-known business speakers to the campus. Typically, the speaker presents at a luncheon that also includes community members. The speaker also meets with students in a classroom setting. These opportunities allow students to interact with high-level executives.

Although many business schools engage in the same type of behaviors that the Monfort College of Business does, they do not have the same results. The Monfort College of Business’ student-centered focus, the commitment to a results-driven benchmarking and assessment strategy, and fact-based decision making leads to its great results.

The program strategy of high-touch, wide-tech, and professional depth makes the Monfort College of Business a truly exceptional business school.

Sharon Clinebell is the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the Monfort College of Business. More information about the Monfort College of Business, including its Baldrige application summary, is available at its website www.mcb.unco.edu.

Great Bargains, Priceless Results

By: Cos Lindstrom Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

The Story of the Arc Thrift Stores/The Birth of a non-profit

Great Bargains Priceless In the 1960s there was little known about intellectual & developmental disabilities. Because of the lack of understanding of disabilities adults were sent away to institutions that were less than ideal. Children would face similar fate by the age of 21. The parents of these victims faced a hard long road, accepting the decision because the practice was considered the “norm”. One day a group of parents in Boulder County, Colorado wanted to raise money to improve the quality of life for the disabled and helped create a grassroots movement to improve the quality of life of those with developmental disabilities which is known today as the Arc and ACL of Boulder County.

With an urgent need for funds, Metropolitan Arc was created as a fundraising mechanism and opened a used goods store called the Value Village Thrift later that year. Generous citizens could donate used items and the proceeds from reselling them would go to funding Arc’s local advocacy work. Today, 46 years after inception, there are 18 thrift stores along the Colorado Front Range from Pueblo to Fort Collins known today as the Arc Thrift Store. They accept everything from household goods, vehicles, cash, and yes, even real estate. Arc Thrift has over 700 employees and serves a population of three million in their stores.

In 2001, another form of fundraising was created, Vehicles for Charity (VFC). VFC is a subsidiary of Metropolitan Arc and was created as another way to raise funds for the Arc and ACL chapters. While M.A.R.C./Arc Thrift Stores had informally taken vehicles for a number of years, it wasn’t until other local non-profits called for assistance. Today, over 350 charities nationwide, accept donations on their behalf.

Today Arc Thrift is one of the largest employers of persons with developmental disabilities in the State of Colorado. Over 80 percent of the disabled in the state are unemployed and over five percent of the population has a disability. Of the 700 Arc employees in Colorado, seven percent have a disability. Arc also provides employment and health insurance for a number of other at-risk populations including the homeless; women from safe houses; refugees; minorities; seniors; veterans; Katrina evacuees; ex-offenders; and persons with histories of substance abuse.

A Man with a Mission - Lloyd Lewis, President & CEO Lewis is a businessman.

He received his masters degree in business at the University of Chicago, and worked at IBM and Smith Barney; a financial consulting firm. Prior to coming to Arc, he was the CFO of a private sector company in Longmont, Colorado. Then, Lloyd’s life changed with the births of his sons – both with disabilities.

His oldest son Kennedy has Downs syndrome and his youngest son Aiden is autistic. Everyday Lloyd faces new challenges that drive him even harder to improve the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their parents by generating funds for the Arc & ACL programs in Colorado.

On October 18, 2007 Lloyd testified on behalf of Representative Michael Garcia to pass the bill which would reduce the waiting list for services for adults with disabilities developmental disabilities act. In Colorado alone, there are over 3,000 people on the waiting list for important services including medical and other basic human services. He brought his four-year-old son Kennedy along and told the legislators, “Had Kennedy been born 44 years ago, not four years ago, we would have been encouraged to send him to an institution. Had he been born 64 years ago, we would have had no other choice than to send him to an institution. Had he been born 74 years ago in Europe, he might have been exterminated.” He closed his testimony with this statement, “In a society that has sequenced the human genome, and has widely explored outer space, eliminating a waiting list for basic services for some of our most vulnerable citizens is something that we can and must do.” Not too long after those words, several bills were passed.

Since taking the helm of Arc in early 2005, Lewis has pushed for high standards at the organization. For him, working at Arc is a means to change people’s perspective of how people with disabilities are perceived. He believes that every job at Arc serves a higher purpose. Furthermore, the last three years have produced more efficiencies at this non-profit. Lewis and the management team have more than doubled the amount of disabled employees working for Arc, while maintaining a lower than average employee and management turnover rate. In fact, Arc’s largest competitor tried to recruit several managers with more money and benefits, yet all of them stayed. According to Bruce Stahlman, Arc’s CFO, “Coming to work is different. It is more than business - we are here to make a difference by leading with our mission. It feeds our soul and our bank accounts.”

“I Am Different”

My name is Garnons Muth. I am 45 years old and have worked at Arc Thrift Store in Aurora, Colorado for 21 years. I show up to work on time and enjoy my job. On Mondays, I go swimming and on Fridays, I go bowling with some of my co-workers. I attend weekly meetings with my supervisor Craig Koppel and the CEO Lloyd Lewis. On Saturdays, I work with my friend April and we eat lunch together. April & I have something in common - we both have Down syndrome. My disability affects 1 in every 800 newborn babies and is a condition that delays the way I have developed mentally and physically. But, my life and my job would not be possible if it were not for some parents of kids and adults like me that wanted change back in the 1960’s. Thank You!

Success Grows With Commitment

Over the past three years, Arc has experienced growth not historically familiar to the non-profit. Revenue increased from $33.9 million in 2006 to $38.3 million in 2008 and the number of distributions was up from 3 million in 2006 to 3.3 million in 2008. In the last 5 years Arc has generated over $10 million in proceeds.

Record donations, dollar amounts spent per customer, and television advertising were all factors leading to the recent financial success of Arc. In April of 2007, Arc began a month long food drive that delivered 73 tons of food to Volunteers of America’s City Harvest Food Bank. The VOA Harvest then distributed the food amongst the 75 local shelters and soup kitchens for free. The 2007 food drive was the second largest food drive in Colorado and the most successful Arc food drive to date.

Each year Arc continues to collaborate with City Harvest and Meals on Wheels to donate food. Spearheaded by Arc’s telemarketing group known as “Jane”, countless calls were made to the public reminding them to donate non-perishable food items and Arc would pick them up. In 2007 over 106,000 pounds of food were donated. In recent years Arc has invited local business and other non-profits to assist in helping collect food items and make it a “super drive”. Some of the local and retuning businesses are Rose Medical Center, Steve Casey’s Recreational Sales and Citywide Banks. Each of the 17 Arc thrift stores in Colorado act as a collection point for the food drives each year.

With Arc’s relentless pursuit to improve the lives of the disabled, there will be a continued focus on providing a good shopping experience for the consumer while supporting an exceptional cause. We all need to do what we can to support the ever growing population of those in need of a helping hand and take time out of our busy lives to give back. It is the belief that going the extra mile can pave a road for all those who will travel on it.

For more information about arc go to www.arcthrift.com. If you would like to donate please call 303-238-5263 or 1-800-283-2721.

Community-Based School-To-Work Initiatives

By: Steve Johnson Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

A Powerful Workforce Development Approach

Community Based School To Work Initiatives Whether your business is automotive, truck, farm equipment or construction equipment, a common thread among these industries is the critical short- and long-term shortage of skilled workers.

This is particularly true in the case of the nationwide shortage of equipment industry repair technicians. Dealer members of Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) would hire several thousand technicians right now if they could find them, according to AED Foundation surveys.

The construction equipment industry offers some excellent, in-demand career opportunities that provide interesting and challenging work, financial rewards, job stability, as well as opportunities for personal and professional growth.

But, it’s up to the industry to get out there and deliver that message.

The AED Foundation is committed to developing workforce solutions to this equipment industry dilemma. One key Foundation initiative is its school partnership program – a two-pronged effort that is simple and yet simply profound in its impact for rebuilding a well-trained technician population.

Step 1: AED has developed and regularly updates its own rigorous national equipment industry technical standards through the efforts of AED industry task forces comprised of equipment dealers, manufacturers and technical schools. AED has deliberately set the technical education bar high in order to achieve the ultimate objective: Highly skilled repair technicians who are prepared to meet the challenges at construction equipment dealer service shops.

Step 2: Using AED’s technical standards as its criteria, the Foundation is actively establishing partnerships with post-secondary school technical programs around the country. The AED Accreditation and the AED Recognized Education Alliance programs have the win-win benefit of giving technical colleges a national status that helps them gain funding and new access to dealer resources and infusing the equipment distribution industry with thousands of graduating entry-level technicians. Currently, there are 23 AED-affiliated colleges and The Foundation is well on its way toward building a network of 70 accredited/ recognized technical schools over the next few years, which will send more than 1,400 qualified technicians into the workforce annually.

Community-based school-to-work initiatives are the model for The AED Foundation’s workforce efforts through these industry school partnerships. Central to the concept is local dealer engagement with technical schools, encouraging local dealers and technical schools to work together to address and meet mutual needs.

Why does the Foundation feel this local engagement is essential?

As equipment technology becomes increasingly sophisticated and complex, educational institutions must stay current to meet industry needs. Most career and technical schools struggle because of scarce program resources, and therefore may not be able to achieve the rigorous AED technical standards without local dealer involvement and support. In other words, collective efforts locally, provide the means to continuously improve these technical programs and raise educational standards.

Local equipment distributors provide insight to program administrators and instructors about what the industry needs and expects from new graduates, enabling schools to provide programs that meet local employer needs. Additionally, local industry can provide students with support that encourages and enables them to pursue higher education in equipment technology. This can include financial assistance in the form of work-study programs, scholarships, loans, summer jobs, and paid internships. Nonfinancial support is equally important and includes mentoring, career planning advice, unpaid internships, and continuous encouragement.

Student recruitment is core to solving dealers’ needs for qualified entry-level technicians and financially sustaining technical programs with sufficient enrollment. Recruitment for career and technical schools tends to be predominantly local, driven by the fact that most students seek jobs within close proximity to their community of origin. Pooling their combined resources, local school-dealer partnership groups can implement significantly stronger, more effective recruiting strategies.

And, strategy is the operative word here: Dealers need to be working right now on recruiting and developing the technicians they will hire one, two or even five years down the road. That will require a comprehensive local effort at the middle/junior high school, high school and post-secondary levels.

An effective strategy involves more than job ads, promotion and advertising. It’s more than donating money and materials to local schools. Students have many attractive technical career options, and today’s job market requires a real grassroots approach.

This includes, among other things:

Gaining students’ attention and interest for this career option Changing perceptions of the job and industry Working directly with and assisting students, and Working with schools that effectively educate students.

Many people talk about the equipment industry “image,” and it’s certainly a valid concern. And while a variety of approaches are available to polish up that image, The AED Foundation’s community-based, school-to-work strategy is achieving hundreds of industry image success stories. More and more students continue to choose our industry because of local people taking a personal interest in their future.

Steve Johnson is the Executive Director of The AED Foundation, a nonprofit division of Associated Equipment Distributors. His responsibilities include the development and implementation of effective workforce development and professional education initiatives for AED-member construction equipment distributors.

College Planning

By: Kevin Herman Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

More Than Just Saving Money

College Planning

My daughter just started kindergarten this year, and it’s so much fun to watch her developing her love for school. Don’t get me wrong—recess is already her favorite subject, but she also loves her teacher and learning her words. Sometimes when I come home from work, she will greet me with one of her many books that she has created, and it makes all the stress of my day disappear. It’s truly amazing watching my daughter learning to learn!

As a father, I want to make every opportunity to learn available to her, and college is definitely one of those opportunities I want to provide for both of my kids. In 12 years I hope my daughter will be well-prepared for the challenges and opportunities so many young men and women experience during their first couple years of college. When my daughter is preparing to go to college, I will wonder about:

  • How will she pay for college?
  • What will her social life be like?
  • Does she have sufficient life management skills to succeed in a college environment?

I used to look at “college planning” just as a financial task. I thought all I had to do was determine how much I needed to invest today so that when my daughter graduated from high school, my wife and I would be able to pay for tuition, fees, and housing. But over the course of the last year, I have come to realize that college planning is so much more than just addressing the financial component and getting that acceptance letter. The statistics about the number of students who are dropping out of school and not getting a degree are alarming. Nearly one third of first-time freshmen do not attend the same college their sophomore year, and the five-year national graduation rate is just over 50 percent.

The combination of the high cost of college and the low success rate is a risky recipe threatening to burden young people with large amounts of debt and little chance for higher wages associated with that very important piece of paper - a college degree.

So, what can we do to improve the chances of success for our children, regardless if they are a newborn or in their senior year of high school? I believe we need to take an honest assessment of several important factors that will help determine their success in college. College planning needs to encompass not only financial aspects, but also social and general life management skills.

How Will She Pay For College?

All of us approach financing a college education differently. A few parents have the willingness and means to provide for their children’s education without loans. A larger portion have the willingness but not the means to provide for their children’s education and, therefore, take on debt to finance their children’s education. On the other end of the spectrum, some parents do not have the willingness to finance their children’s education and believe it’s the responsibility of the child to fully finance their own education if they want to pursue a college degree. In today’s society, nearly all young adults will need to assume some sort of debt to finance their education.

College affordability is clearly an issue today - just look at the headlines. The cost of education is rising at twice the pace of inflation, federal loans are often not covering the full cost of college, access to private loans is being limited due to stricter underwriting standards, and home equity that has built up over the last 15+ years is becoming smaller and smaller as the housing market continues to lose value.

With both national retention and graduation rates at less than 70% according to ACT, the importance of finding the right school is critical to paying for college as efficiently as possible. After all, the expenses of transferring schools a couple times and/or not graduating on time add up fast. Therefore, take the time to ask yourself or your child, “What are the things that are going to make me want to leave or stay in college?”

Approach potential colleges with the mindset that you want to get the greatest return for your investment. One way to do this is to find out what the school offers to ensure success. Many schools offer a multitude of services to help bridge the transition from high school to college, such as freshman orientation and first-year experience programs. Some schools also engage faculty and staff with first-year students through services such as early alert systems. These systems allow faculty and staff to identify students who may need a little extra help building that strong bond with the school. Taking time to review these programs will help you and/or your child find the school that offers the best return on your investment.

As you are looking for the right school, make sure you are taking advantage of the government resources that are available free of charge. For example, all students should fill out of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA

(www.fafsa.ed.gov) during their senior year of high school. Use this form to apply for aid such the Pell Grant, federal student loans, and college work-study programs. After filling out the FAFSA, students receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that outline the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for higher education activities. This EFC figure is the one that schools use to develop a financial aid package for your family. The package may contain a combination of grants, student loans, and work-study opportunities - from which students choose what aid they want to receive.

Here are some additional helpful resources about paying for college:

Another consideration is your probable future earning potential relative to the cost of your education. Most of us seek additional education to increase our earning potential in the workforce, and there are institutions all over the country that offer degrees varying from computer science to comic book art. When students are considering what degree they want to earn, consider that your investment might not result in your desired return. Sometimes the harsh reality of the world comes into conflict with our dreams and aspirations, but it’s so important to find out what you can expect before taking on huge amounts of debt that may take 10 or more years to repay.

What Will Her Social Life Look Like?

In addition to financing college, I want to make sure my wife and I are taking the right steps to ensure the college our daughter selects is conducive to a successful social life. With national retention rates at less than 70%, we want to make sure that resources are available to help my daughter establish a social connection quickly.

Many schools realize the importance of social connections and have developed many resources to facilitate these connections through programs such as living communities. For example, the University of Denver offers living and learning communities based on an interdisciplinary theme that creates purposeful links among academic, residential, and social components. Getting connected quickly into a social circle is so important for success at school.

Does She Have Sufficient Life Management Skills To Succeed In A College Environment?

Another critical component to success in college is the ability to deal with life and all the curve balls it throws you. Freshmen are faced with all sorts of life management challenges the moment they step on campus. I can almost guarantee that within 10 minutes of being on campus, students will be offered a free t-shirt for simply filling out a credit card application. Within the first week, many students will realize they don’t have to attend class. Then midway through the semester, they’re stressed out and their jeans don’t fit very well as the dreaded freshman 15 begin to show.

Dealing with financial, academic, social, and wellness issues is challenging for all of us, and many times we don’t recognize these issues until they become incredibly painful and loaded with consequences. Oftentimes, the students themselves are the last to realize the situation even though others noticed the issue weeks or months before.

Many colleges are addressing these issues through a variety of programs such as first-year experience courses that educate students about these life skills and the resources available for those who need help. Additionally, more and more colleges are implementing early alert systems that allow faculty and staff to identify students who may need additional help to succeed - whether it is financial, social, or academic. Attending a school where the faculty and staff are genuinely concerned about the students’ total well-being is key to helping students achieve total student success.

Watching my beautiful daughter move from baby to toddler to child has filled me with joy, happiness, and love, and thinking of her growing into a teenager, then a young adult, and eventually a wonderful woman fills me with excitement, hope, and anxiety. But one thing that gives me peace about her future is that I’ll do my best to pass to her the wonderful gift of a quality education, and I’ll do everything I can to fully prepare her for all the aspects of that amazing experience.

Kevin Herman is director of education services for Nelnet and is responsible for helping schools and students achieve success. He can be reached at 303-696-5551 or via email at [email protected].

Bridging Business And Social Responsibility

By: Lorna Christoff Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

Leeds Curriculum Emphasis on Social Responsibility

Bridging Business The University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business launches its students on a journey that few other business undergraduates are privileged to take. Through the generosity and vision of the Leeds family (for whom the school is named), Leeds School of Business undergraduates have the benefit of a curriculum initiative called Curriculum Emphasis on Social Responsibility (CESR). The Leeds family long has placed enormous value on students thinking about social responsibility and the kind of leaders they seek to become. Through required and elective CESR courses, students learn business methods that do more than just maintain a black bottom line – they also explore strategic advantage of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, more generally, and the necessity of thinking about values and ethics in business and in life. The CESR program is directed by Dr. Donna Sockell.

In the current highly competitive, globally-connected business world, Leeds graduates are prepared to become outstanding business leaders of tomorrow, ready to meet any ethical challenges.

CESR helps students to achieve this by overseeing the infusion of values discussions in classes throughout the undergraduate and graduate curricula at the Leeds School of Business.

The business world presents many opportunities or temptations for college graduates to make their marks in either socially positive or negative ways. We need to look no further than the last decade of accounting scandals, misuses of executive authority, abuse of labor abroad, an indiscriminate use of natural resources, the threats of global warming to know that issues to be confronted by our graduates are global and complex. By sensitizing students to these issues, by exposing them to different approaches to a business’ social responsibility, Leeds is investing in a future generation of business leaders who will make us proud - leaders who will choose to operate their companies in not only a profitable but an ethical manner.

Leadership Challenges: Exercises in Moral Courage

Twenty-four undergraduate students. One high-level executive. A personal drama unfolds and questions pepper the air. At the University of Colorado, the Leeds School of Business offers one of the most fulfilling, exciting, and unique experiences available to executives and students. This is CESR’s’ year-long course, “Leadership Challenges: Exercises in Moral Courage”, where junior- and senior–level students must compete for limited places.

And compete they do. After the course’s inaugural year of 2007-08, students who took the class began recommending it to other students and referring exceptional peers to the instructors, Dr. Donna Sockell (who created the course) and Michael Leeds (the eldest son of the family for whom the business school is named). The 24 places in the 2008-09 course filled within days, and numerous high-performing students will have to wait until the following year. Past students have described the class as the most meaningful course to their business careers - the course they work the hardest at in order to excel. Graduating students have stated it was their favorite course in their entire business school education.

Like the CESR initiative generally, this course has grown from the School’s strategic commitment to help students become outstanding business leaders of tomorrow by preparing them to meet the ethical challenges posed by a highly competitive, global business world. It is the view of Sockell and Leeds that having students interact with talented and successful executives, who are willing to share “real life” stories they viewed as life-defining challenges in their careers, will provide outstanding preparation for students to succeed when they assume business roles in the future.

Why all the compliments for a course at which students have worked the hardest? Imagine yourself in the classroom, but this isn’t just any class. The instructors, instead of beginning an hour-long lecture to hundreds, introduce an executive like Michael Francis, Chief Marketing Officer for Target Corp., Aaron Kennedy, the former CEO and founder of Noodles & Co, Larissa Herda, CEO of tw telecom, or Rob Katz, the CEO of Vail Resorts to you and 23 other students. You already know some key facts about the executive from materials the instructors provided during the previous class. You know even more about the dilemma the executive has struggled with in his or her career, one that troubled her personal morality in addition to being a business problem. You know this because you received the executive’s written description of the dilemma in the prior class session. You have worked for two weeks with a group of other students in the class to determine the executive’s best course of action.

Your group presents recommendations to the executive while he or she is there in class. After the executive discusses the presentations with Sockell and Leeds, he or she gives your group feedback about your presentation style and the content of your recommendations. This evaluation process might sometimes occur in MBA programs, but it is virtually unheard-of at the undergraduate level.

Once the executive has discussed his/her evaluations with you, she further describes the dilemma and its actual resolution. (Two of the past executive visitors told the students they wished they would have thought of the solutions the students suggested!) The executive also outlines other personal struggles with business issues he/she has faced in a long and extremely successful business career and how these dilemmas were resolved. You have nearly an hour left of class time to ask her/him any questions that come to your mind not only about the situations described in class, but also any questions about the executive’s company, career, work-life balance, etc. With only a handful of students, you can have a true face-to-face interaction with an executive of a major corporation.

Students enthusiastically praise Leadership Challenges because of these opportunities for direct contact with high-level executives: six per year. It is a rare occasion for an undergraduate’s presentation skills to be evaluated by a businessperson at such a high managerial level. Previous executive visitors also included Liam Killeen, CEO of Storck USA (one of the 2007-08 students began an informal mentoring relationship with him), Barbara Mowry, CEO of Silver Creek Systems, Peter Meola, former CEO of BP Lubricants, and Lynn Utter, former Chief Strategy Officer of Molson Coors Brewing Company.

But the enthusiasm about Leadership Challenges is not confined to the students. A recent executive visitor to the class who expressed surprise at how much work he had to do to prepare for class described the classroom experience as “fantastic.” Because Leadership Challenges is based on an interactive model, it builds a special connection between the executive visitor and the students that is not generated by an executive speech to hundreds of students. This model, which creates a genuine dialogue, excites executives who continue to sign up to visit the class, in spite of the work they must do to prepare for class! In fact, Larissa Herda was so taken with her experience and the students’ presentation styles that she showed their PowerPoint slides to her own management team the very next day. Describing her experience, she said,

“I’ve had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of college students at numerous universities over the years as part of their curriculum. Leadership Challenges was by far the most relevant, engaging, and clever class I have experienced. The combination of student - professor - executive interaction, coupled with examples of real life drama and dilemmas, gives students an incredible insider’s view to the difficult decision-making that goes on every day in business.”

Leadership Challenges affords Leeds School of Business students extraordinary opportunities for professional growth, meaningful coursework and networking. Executive visitors enjoy a one-of-a-kind encounter with exceptional future business leaders, sharing in the molding of students just before they begin their impact upon the business world.

In addition to providing unique treatment of business ethics in the “Leadership Challenges” elective, the Leeds School of Business is one of the only public schools in the country that has a substantial and enduring commitment to the infusion of values throughout all years of the undergraduate curriculum. Over 9,000 credit hours currently reflect that commitment, which begins at the freshman level. The required freshman course, “Introduction to Business”, maintains an important component of ethics and values as students learn the basics of business. From day one, students are exposed to ideas of how personal values relate to business decisions. They see these decisions and business behavior play out in the Wall Street Journal and other publications, which provide ample fodder for essays and assignments.

At the sophomore level, Leeds students take required courses in the foundations of their major. CESR encourages and offers support for the development of values-oriented materials in these required classes and provides counsel to faculty teaching any courses in the school who request such materials.

Nearly 1,000 students per year take CESR’s challenging, required junior-level course (“Business Applications of Social Responsibility”), which is a rigorous exploration of values in corporate social responsibility. In this flagship CESR course, student discussion and participation in smaller classes are integral to the learning environment of this course, enabling students to “give voice to their values” and evaluate the role of business in society.

As well, students must learn to articulate the theory(ies) behind their views, recognize the shortcomings of their stances, and defend their positions across many up-to-date case studies and practical applications.

At the senior level, CESR assists business school divisions in the offering of capstone experiences, enabling students to identify and address values in the context of complex issues within their majors. These capstone courses enable students to apply their personal values and decision-making frameworks to find profitable resolutions to the most common and troublesome ethical issues they will face in their chosen careers.

MBA Coursework

Similar to the junior-level required course, CESR offers an inter-disciplinary MBA course (“Business & Society”) suited to students with greater business and leadership experience. The course is a stakeholder-focused discussion of business obligations.

“Topics in Sustainable Business”, to be offered in fall 2009, will provide an overview of the core concepts, strategies, and practice of sustainable business, with an emphasis on entrepreneurial opportunities and development of a personalized sustainability action plan.

CESR, in partnership with the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Growth Initiative, has produced a 3-course sequence for MBAs who wish to focus on the critical issue of sustainability. The track will help students develop and discover successful business opportunities that will improve the future of our world.

Elective Undergraduate Courses

More than merely business ethics, the course forces students to consider their view of how businesses should and should not act based on their personal values.

CESR also offers creative, out-of-the-box elective classes that address cutting edge issues and challenge students to grow in their self-awareness, their experiences, and their understanding of the role of business in society.

In “Global Small Business: Learning Through Service”, upperclassmen work with Peace Corps volunteers and Friendship Bridge (a microcredit organization), gaining “hands on” experience and focused academic research. Through the coursework, students address the real-world needs of small business entrepreneurs in developing countries by assisting in the development and implementation of business plans and codes of conduct in organizations.

“Finding Business Opportunities in a Resource-Constrained World” is another of CESR’s electives for upperclassmen. The course examines a number of business dilemmas directly related to today’s environmental challenges and allows students to learn from real-world businesses that are not only are finding solutions to these challenges, but are extremely profitable in doing so!

“Leadership Challenges: Exercises in Moral Courage”, as highlighted earlier, is a year-long, highly selective course, based on an interactive model that creates a genuine dialogue between executives and students. Six high-level executives visit the classroom, share their experiences and present an ethical dilemma, to which students present a solution for the executive to evaluate and critique. Bridging Business

Moral of the Story

All Leeds graduates, year after year, will have been exposed by CESR to principles of corporate social responsibility and the practical applications of these principles. Leeds graduates are up-to-date on social responsibility challenges that businesses face and can be active in creating profitable solutions. Businesses will be able to place greater trust in the fact that the value-add of a Leeds graduate will not only be to enhance firm performance, but will be done so in an ethical way that is mindful of the impact of decisions on stakeholders.

21st Century Skills

By: Jan Mazotti and Susan Snowdon Issue: Education & Workforce Development Section: Inspiration

More Than Just Learning To Use A Computer

21st Century Skills 21st Century Skills are more than learning to use a computer. These skills are a mastery of core subjects with an infusion of life, career, innovation, and technology skills interwoven within the learning environment of curriculum, professional development, and standards and assessments.

To prepare students for the 21st century, schools are more actively using technology as an integral part of the instructional day as they prepare students to become the employees of tomorrow.

Emerging technologies and outside collaborative efforts to host business and government professionals is prevalent throughout schools in the U.S. and is proving useful in student and teacher engagement.

As we advance in this globally connected age, we have shifted expectations to include more than the traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic fundamentals. We have begun to demand aspects of learning and innovation skills such as creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration/teamwork; information and technology skills; and life and career skills such as flexibility, self-direction, cross-cultural social skills, productivity and accountability, and leadership for our students.

At Timberline Elementary, in Aurora, Colorado, they understand this. They are teaching technology, workforce, and life skills on a daily basis.

During 2008-2009, the Cherry Creek school district and Timberline were the recipients of several Smart Boards courtesy of a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. Smart Boards provide students the opportunity to interact with websites, math manipulatives, and a multitude of instructional aides, while improving gross motor skills. Susan Snowdon, principal of Timberline says, “These Boards get the whole class involved and provide immediate correctional feedback mechanisms, especially in math programs.” “In fact,” she goes on, “we’d like to incorporate Smart Boards in all math instruction going forward.”

“Our kindergarten teachers are part of a district-wide grant that allows kindergarten students to take their teacher home with them. In this program, lower-performing or ESL students’ teachers record activities, then the students take the iPods home, listen to the lesson and complete the activities with their families.” She notes that this program, while new, is really beginning to show improvements with students in terms of phonics and reading, which is leading to better student interactions in the classroom.

Older students are actively participating in writing blogs. These interactive blogs give students the opportunity to evaluate each other’s writing, offer suggestions and enjoy their peers’ writing. Snowdon notes, “We are seeing great value in these blogs. They seem to be very motivational and engaging, especially for boys.” She says that the blogs are allowing boys to share their interests in various types of literature, especially science fiction, with other students and that it is allowing them more of an ability to become ‘engaged’ in the conversation when eyes aren’t directly on them.” With the growing needs of students, the partnership between communities, businesses, retired citizens and parents is vital to the success of schools.

Outside of the pure technology occurring in the school, Timberline has a large peer-tutoring program, which supports teamwork and problem solving skills for students. The Reading Together program, sponsored by a grant from the Cherry Creek Schools Foundation is active in all district elementary schools. Twenty-six second and third grade students are paired with fourth and fifth grade tutors. These students meet twice a week to read together and discuss the literature selection. In addition, tutors commit to another day of training each week. Programs such as these are a great way for students to interact with each other, but also could serve as a great community collaborative between adults and students.

Recently, Timberline began participating in the Educator for a Day program, which provides opportunities for professionals and business people to teach in a school for a day. During the program, Timberline hosted a city council member, a news reporter and an engineer who taught kindergarten, third and fifth grades, respectively. “It was a fun way for adults to understand what expectations are within a school, while gaining first-hand knowledge about student learning and teacher responsibilities,” Snowdon said. She went on, “Being an educator for a day is a great way for the community to be involved in schools and for students to hear about how the skills they are learning today impact the jobs of tomorrow.”

Timberline is no different from elementary schools across the country.

Each school has its own programs, needs and opportunities for collaboration.

In today’s world, we are expecting – or demanding - our students to become engaged digital citizens in a global marketplace, yet we are just beginning to embrace and implement the technological, as well as social innovations and life skills needed to be and/or remain competitive in a global economy.

We must support our schools and education professionals, as they too begin to participate in the global economy.

Timberline Elementary is a four-track, year-round school in the Cherry Creek School district (CCSD). Timberline, and all of the CCSD schools, strive to provide a balanced education that includes rigorous academic instruction and extracurricular activities. Community support is essential when it comes to providing many of these opportunities for students. Through Parent Teacher Organizations, we are able to support science projects, additional supervision for recess and lunch, author visits and assemblies. Grants from various sources are one way that we are able to broaden our impact and to extend learning beyond the regular school day. By contacting your local school, you can certainly learn about ways to affect student achievement.

Meet Adam P. Cohen

CH2M HILL, Vice President, Enterprise Performance Excellence

Meet the Board Adam P Cohen

Contact Adam P. Cohen

9191 South Jamaica Street Englewood, CO 80112

p: 1.888.CH2M.HILL e: [email protected]

Adam P. Cohen is Vice President and Director of Enterprise Performance Excellence for CH2M HILL, a global project delivery company with revenues of more than $6 billion and 25,000 employees. Fortune named CH2M HILL to the prestigious 100 Best Companies to Work For listing in 2003, 2006, and 2008; and America’s Most Admired Companies for the last 6 years.

In his 19-year career with the firm, he has served in various roles involving training, organizational development, strategic planning, process improvement, quality management, marketing, and technical publications. His client work spans the water, transportation, energy and environment, and industrial sectors.

So how does an English Language & Literature major end up celebrating 19 years of employment with global engineering, construction, and operations firm CH2M HILL? And, how does this experience translate into a calling to improve company operations, service to customers, and employee engagement?

CH2M HILL acquired an Evanston, Illinois-based transportation engineering firm in 1989, and opened the “Chicago office” on the research campus of Northwestern University. Less than a year after graduation from the University of Michigan, Cohen was the first new CH2M HILL employee hired to join the existing team. He applied his English degree as a technical publications and editing specialist, producing technical reports and marketing materials for almost 3 years.

In 1993, with the pull of Colorado luring him home, he joined OMI, a fully owned subsidiary unit of CH2M HILL. Just months into his employment with OMI, he attended an introductory training session of OMI’s Obsessed With Quality process. The course taught employees about the culture of quality, customer service, teamwork, process improvement and statistical process control, and employee empowerment. In 1995, Cohen became a “focus team leader” for one element of OMI’s implementation of the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award criteria. He served in this role and as co-leader of Team OMI, driving companywide improvements and leading production of three official Baldrige Award applications.

OMI received the Baldrige Award in 2000 as the first-ever Colorado recipient. (Since joined as Baldrige Award Recipients by the UNC Monfort College of Business and, this year, Poudre Valley Health System.) He became a Quality Coach for OMI in 1999-2000, then Quality Director for OMI in 2003 until 2006 when he returned to CH2M HILL’s corporate ranks in a companywide quality role.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the non-profit Colorado Performance Excellence (CPEx), a state-level Baldrige-based performance excellence program. He served as Board President in 2004 and 2005, and Vice President in 2003. Recently “retiring” as the Lead Judge for the CPEx awards program after 4 years, he will return to a role as an Examiner for the state award in 2009.

Cohen also is engaged as an Advisor to the Monfort College of Business Institute for Performance Excellence at the University of Northern Colorado. He co-chaired the Baldrige Award Recipients Consortium, a national network of Baldrige Award Recipient organizations, in 2001 and 2002.

Cohen has been a guest on several radio programs and internet radio station Voice America, and has made keynote and workshop presentations to more than 5,000 people. He is certified by the American Society for Quality as a Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence, and Quality Improvement Associate.

Reflections Through A Lens

ICOSA was started because our Publisher saw the downturn in the economy as an opportunity for all of us to establish collaborative efforts to make things better across industries and organizations - domestically and globally. Using stories of successful collaborative efforts, we hoped to spark dialogue and move people to action, through personal effort, donations, or other means. Recently, I met with a group of readers who were outraged by a story that appeared in ICOSA’s November/December 2008 Social Responsibility issue. These readers felt that our “lens” had been focused on the wrong thing. In their opinion, one of the companies we highlighted as an example of effective collaboration was, in their opinion, not at all collaborative or socially responsible. Instead of a model of how to build successful collaborative relationships through community development, they saw a culprit of harmful business practices. After vigorous discussion, I agreed to reflect on my responsibilities as an editor, if they would consider their individual and collective roles, in the complicit nature of the way things are.

I went on to share reflections on that issue through my “lens.” And, although they were disturbed by my actions, I reminded them that we are all complicit participants in extractive industries – especially if we heat our homes, drive a car, use a computer, or wear shoes. Everything we touch or do is either mined or grown – it is just the “nature of the beast.” I explained that it is a “lens” that sometimes gets lost in the conversation. A “lens” that sometimes is never considered.

In this issue, we have tried to compile stories that address both sides of the conversation. We expect, and hope for, debate and conversation that considers the “voice” of the author. There will be readers that contend that we have not been fair – but is that the point? I hope that there are pieces of each of the articles in this issue of ICOSA that push readers to reflect on opinions and predisposed judgments to consider another point of view. Shouldn’t that be the point?

As I reflect on my actions while compiling this issue, I know that I don’t agree with everything in this issue. NO – not everything is based on my opinion. As I reflect on my actions, my “lens” has opened to more fully consider the opinions of others. As I reflect on my actions, I am excited that someone is reading this magazine and thinking critically about its content – which is one of my goals! As I reflect on my actions, I know that we, here at ICOSA, are receptive to constructive criticism – it’s the only way we get better. As I reflect on my actions, I have recognized that meeting in the middle and considering someone else’s “lens” is a concept difficult to conceive for ideologues on any side of a debate.

As you read this issue on Sustainable Development: Energy and the Environment, I hope that you will consider the “lens” with which you read and remind yourself of other “lenses” from which to think critically about the stories.

The only way that we can begin to move toward a stronger, more collaborative nation, is to consider the “lens” through which we look as we reflect on our role in moving this nation, and the world, forward.

Vision Into Action

By: Cos Lindstrom Issue: Energy & The Environment Section: Jewel Of Collaboration

Environmental Excellence at Suncor Energy

Vision Into Action Trust and confidence are built over time and often does not happen overnight. Stakeholders want more than just results. They are often looking for long-term solutions in two important areas - social performance and environmental performance. The “triple bottom line vision” encompasses sustainable development that has three main goals: economic prosperity, promoting social well being, and preserving a healthy environment.

At Suncor Energy, this isn’t an option - it’s a duty. Suncor realizes that to keep the balance between generating profits, supply and demand, and sustaining the environment it must reduce greenhouse gases, sulphur dioxide and air emissions that are produced because of its operations.

“Turning vision into action starts with employees,” says the company. In fact, in 2006 Suncor launched the Environmental Excellence Strategy to change the way employees thought about environmental stewardship. A culture was adopted where waste was not tolerated and employees were encouraged to solve environmental challenges. Employees were charged with ways to go beyond just meeting expectations, but to identify opportunities for superior performance in regards to the environment in four key areas: waste, energy efficiency, water, and land.

Because of this culture shift, a two-day summit was held where over 130 Suncor employees brainstormed ways to address environmental obstacles and the opportunities that would and could arise. a two-day summit was held where over 130 Suncor employees brainstormed ways to address environmental obstacles and the opportunities that would and could arise.

According to Gord Lambert, Vice President, Sustainable Environment, “Their capacity to innovate and solve problems is remarkable. Now, we’re giving them more resources to get the job done.”

A Look At What Suncor Does

In 1964, known as the Oil Sands Company, the company began development of one of the world’s largest petroleum basins – the Athabasca oil sands, and the largest single private investment in Canada at that time. Then, in 1979 Suncor was created with the merger of the Canadian operations of Sun Company and the Great Canadian Oil Sands. The oil sands are a surface mine facility which extract oil from the ground. Steam injection and other surface mining technologies upgrade the oil to refinery ready crude oil which is then shipped to various locations. The oil sands business is also supported by natural gas production facilities located in western Canada, refining, marketing & retail locations in Onatrio, Canada and Commerce City, Colorado.

Today, Suncor has over 5,500 employees who are in the business of natural gas, renewable energy, and energy marketing under the Sunoco and Phillips 66 brands. The fuels that are produced are then sold as energy that fuel our cars, power our schools, hospitals and businesses. This high-quality, low sulphur diesel fuel meets or exceeds industry specifications.

Carbon Neutral by 2020?

Suncor hopes to be a carbon neutral company by 2020, but the price tag will be hefty and it will require an amazing amount of collaboration and planning with partners and government entities. Suncor believes that technology holds the key to large-scale greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, but that technology doesn’t happen overnight and takes money to deploy.

Suncor admits that they cannot commit to being a carbon neutral industry by 2020, but will pursue opportunities that potentially move them in that direction. Until then, Suncor has a seven point plan to cope with environmental change. This plan addresses ways to manage GHG emissions, further develop renewable sources of energy, invest in environmental and economic research, domestic and international offsets, policy collaboration, education programs, and measurements for progress.

Carbon capture and storage solutions are high on Suncor’s agenda. Carbon capture, as the name implies, involves capturing CO2 and transporting it through a pipeline to gas reservoirs for long term storage. Sometimes that stored CO2 can be used to recover additional oil and is alternatively known as enhanced oil recovery.

GHG emissions are high on their list of concerns by Suncor’s key stakeholder groups. Ten years ago, Suncor launched a plan that decreased the overall carbon emitted from its facilities. Since 1990, GHG emissions have reduced at the oil sands plant by 44 percent. As Suncor expands production capacity, there is no way to avoid emissions - so they are investing in technologies that could lead to overall reductions, while looking at opportunities to utilize wind power and biofuel technologies. To further reduce their carbon footprint, Suncor is conserving energy across operations, funding R&D for carbon capture technologies, developing other environmentally friendly technologies, investing in renewables, and measuring/reporting on their progress.

Suncor’s Climate Change Plan – Wind, Water, Land

Wind power is the fastest growing source of electricity generation in the world and is one of the most economical forms of power. It is emissions free and renewable. The investment in wind power is a key component of the company’s climate change plan. A portion of the revenues from the oil sands development is invested in wind power. In fact, Suncor has been a pioneer in Canada with regard to wind power generation. Four wind farms are currently functional and others are in the planning stages. The current wind farms can produce 147 megawatts of electricity and reduce CO2 emissions by 284,000 tons annually.

Suncor understands that water is a limited resource that should be managed wisely. Water is essential to the company’s production, and very important to the oil sands business. In order to achieve sustainable development they recognize the need for balance between the amount of water used by the company and maintaining a clean and safe water supply for years to come. When Suncor started its business back in the 1960s, water was abundant, yet today it is limited.

Because of the need to conserve water resources, the company is working to reduce the consumption of water in all aspects of the business. As part of the Environmental Excellence strategy, a water conservation ethic is being reinforced for all operations and employees. Exploring new technologies and pursuing integrated watershed management are also part of the plan. At the oil sands site, water usage has already been reduced by 40 percent because of new technologies. These resource management technologies, will allow the company to expand to about 500,000 barrels per day by 2012 without any increase in the water usage. Today they continue to invest in additional technologies to continue the reduction of operational water use.

Suncor believes educating others is another way to support water conservation. In June 2007, the RiverWatch Environmental Education Program took Fort McMurray high school students out of the classroom and taught them about local river systems. The program educated 200 students on how to monitor aquatic ecosystems along a six-kilometer route along the rivers in Alberta. Corporate and government financial contributions made the RiverWatch program feasible.

The company knows that their mining activities disturb the land. However, after extraction, reclaiming the land to support vegetation and wildlife is the goal. In February 2008, the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) and Suncor were recognized by Imagine Canada for their conservation offset initiative in the Boreal forest, which focused on protecting and maintaining wetland and watershed health. The recognition represented innovative collaborations between leading businesses and non-profit partners. The partnership generated over $1 million in investments that led to 1,750 acres of Boreal habitat to be secured for conservation by ACA.

Because Suncor and its partners have been environmental role models, other oil and gas companies have followed suit and are launching similar projects. Todd Zimmerling, CEO of ACA expressed his gratitude by saying, “We work together every step of the way, by means of an advisory committee to ensure this land is available for future generations to enjoy, value and use.”

Along with the ACA partnerships, Suncor also works closely with neighboring companies to reduce the overall effects of development and promote scientific research and good practices. Suncor also supports several research and conservation efforts through non-profit and multi-stakeholder organizations.

Training The Next Generation

Suncor knows that constant training in new technologies is paramount to their success. In 2009, Red Rocks Community College was awarded monies that expanded the engineering and training facilities for process operators and craft technicians, as well as general science and operations professionals.

In 2008 Ceres, an organization of investors, environmental organizations and public interest groups, recognized Suncor for their Climate Action Plan efforts. Furthermore, in 2007 Suncor was named to the top ten list of Fortune “10 Green Giants in Business.” - a list of businesses that go above and beyond what is required to operate in a friendly, environmentally responsible manner.

Suncor’s investment in carbon capture techniques, water management plans, and greenhouse gas management programs is what sets them apart. Gord Lambert says, “It is great to be recognized for our environmental work and stand among others who are committed to sustainability. We’ve worked hard to get to where we are and we will continue our efforts as we grow our business.”

The Pipeline Puzzle

By: Michael Connors Issue: Energy & The Environment Section: Jewel Of Collaboration

Connecting Communities, Resources, & the Environment

Pipeline Puzzle As the rush to a “New Energy Economy” captures the imagination of the world, there are those that understand no “New Energy” is a comprehensive remedy.

While everyone would prefer that solar or wind be used exclusively, this pipe dream is not currently realistic. What comes to the forefront, then, is the importance of developing traditional sources of energy in a more efficient and environmentally sound manner.

TransCanada, a leader in energy distribution, is working to expand American energy access to the oil sands of Alberta and the gas-rich Alaskan North Slope through an extensive pipeline network. Moving 20% of America’s oil and gas energy needs through their pipeline, TransCanada is taking it upon themselves to develop cutting-edge procedures that make oil and gas more available and that are transported in an environmentally conscientious way.

A pipeline is a very real symbol of the connections we have between communities, energy resources, and the environment

A pipeline is a very real symbol of the connections we have between communities, energy resources, and the environment – thus TransCanada pipeline expansions like the Keystone Project and the proposed TC Alaskan pipeline are conceived and executed with an acute sense of environmental responsibility and community development.

The Alternative Integrity Validation Process

Building energy infrastructure is vital to the operations of a modern world, and TransCanada has developed a multidimensional approach to pipeline installation and materials handling that will help eliminate out-dated modes of environmental testing. New quality control measures will also significantly reduce the risk of pipeline breaches. The Alternative Integrity Validation process is one such technique, currently under development, that could change the very nature of pipeline-health assessment and ultimately help prevent ruptures. Essentially, the goal is to so tightly monitor the development of the pipe from manufacturing to installation, as to effectively eliminate the possibility of failure. According to a 2007 TransCanada report:

“We have been field testing a new process for confirming the integrity of new pipeline installations. Called the Alternative Integrity Validation (AIV) process, this approach may eventually do away with the negative environmental impact of the time-consuming and costly post-construction hydrostatic test that has been an industry standard for many years.”

Assuring a pipe’s integrity could eliminate the need for the hydrostatic tests currently employed and has far-reaching implications for pipeline development. Moving away from the hydrostatic test would also mean that fresh water is no longer needed to run through the pipe and then captured and purified, saving time, money and helping the environment.

But one process alone will not be enough to assure a safe method of transmission. Conceivably, then, the Alternative Integrity Validation is one piece to a larger environmental protection strategy that involves multiple layers of security. The TransCanada 2007 report lists several such practices:

“In conjunction with the AIV process, TransCanada employs Environmental Protection Plans for contractors, utilizes independent environmental inspectors, immediate reclamation after construction, the development of compliance calendars and manuals for all locations, Environmental Site Assessments and a comprehensive tracking and monitoring program designed to take in account any regulatory changes where TransCanada operates. Once pipeline has been laid, an extensive maintenance program is also utilized, and when pipeline inspections are required: TransCanada uses environmentally responsible mitigation measures to eliminate, minimize, or manage any effects of the maintenance programs. Examples of mitigation measures during the maintenance programs include: keeping topsoil separate from the subsoil during excavation; limiting vehicle traffic on site during adverse weather; and re-seeding excavation sites as required.”

Because of their commitment to the environment, TransCanada has been recognized with awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Natural Gas STAR Program at TransCanada’s Great Lakes Gas Transmission Company (GLGT) operations for 12 years of continuing excellence in its efforts to report, measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. TransCanada was also named to the Global 100, a list of the world’s top 100 sustainable corporations. The Global 100 recognizes corporations that demonstrate a better ability than their industry peers to manage environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities

Simply put, the pipeline industry is in great need of innovative environmental strategies in order to counteract a negative public perception (commonly perpetuated by special interest groups) of energy gathering and distribution. Therefore, by combining the AIV process with multiple layers of environmental policy, TransCanada is helping to minimize the risk of very public and notorious environmental disasters.

The Keystone Project

By opening access to the tar sands of Alberta and bridging the resource to the refining capabilities of the Gulf Coast, TransCanada, in conjunction with Conoco, will be greatly increasing the availability of crude oil to the U.S. Exploration, production and transportation within the North American boundaries helps the U.S. and Canada refrain from importing oil from foreign, and possibly hostile, countries. The 2007 report demonstrates the scope of the project. “The Keystone expansion includes an approximate 3,200-kilometre (1,980-mile), 36-inch crude oil pipeline starting at Hardisty, Alberta and extending south to a delivery point near existing terminals in Port Arthur, Texas and, subject to shipper support, will include an additional approximate 80-kilometre (50-mile) pipeline lateral to the Houston, Texas area. With the addition of incremental pumping facilities, the Keystone Pipeline system could be further expanded from 1.1 million barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day.”

An additional benefit is the economic growth spurred by the investment on construction all along the pipeline route. Perhaps no other project best exemplifies TransCanada’s commitment to community growth and development since the pipeline runs through so many American towns. According to a recent AP article, “Work on the TransCanada Keystone oil pipeline in southeast South Dakota is expected to begin in mid-May with several hundred workers using Yankton as construction headquarters for much of the year.” Yankton Mayor, Dan Specht says, “We appreciate what TransCanada has done, especially in terms of communication.” Then reflecting on R.R. McGillvray of TransCanada, Specht noted, “It’s been at least a couple of years that you’ve been looking at this area, and you’ve been upfront all along.” Anyone who collaborates knows that communication is paramount.

Consider for a moment the link between healthy communities and a healthy ecosystem. When projects are sustainable in North America, then stricter environmental laws can be observed. It is well known environmental laws in many oil-producing countries are typically weak and not enforced and those supplies are simply shipped here. And, when local communities are involved in the decision making processes, they tend to focus very heavily on environmental consequences since they will have to live with any disasters.

TransCanada Alaskan Pipeline Project

Current projects like Keystone shine a light on the necessity for responsible growth, but the TransCanada Alaskan Pipeline proposal highlights the need for planning and action over the long-term. An estimated $30 billion project, the Alaska pipeline would connect the North Slope to the Alaskan highway and then to Alberta where the gas can be distributed to the North American territories. This is a project that has been in the proposal stages for many years, and at long last, TransCanada has stepped up to take a leadership role to make it happen. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin noted recently, “The actions by TransCanada and FERC help bring Alaska and the Nation one step closer to providing a secure, abundant, and environmentally responsible source of energy to hungry markets in the United States. I look forward to continuing to work with FERC and all interested parties to continue to move this critical project forward.” Collaboration and communication throughout the development process is the only way to involve communities in their own economic development while addressing environmental concerns that are vital to localities.

While the TC Alaskan Pipeline may still be in the feasibility stages, (estimated completion in 2018) it is critical that new projects are proposed, developed and constructed so that energy demands can be met. At a time when companies are scaling back on their vision and investments, it is more important than ever that some maintain a focus on the very real demands of an economy still based on traditional energies.

The transition to green energies is still in its infancy, and leaders in states that work with oil and gas understand their profound importance in the every-day lives of their citizens. Competent leaders see the connections between energy, distribution, sustainable communities and environmental protection. There is common ground.

At the end of the day, we can see the very physical way in which pipelines connect communities with each other and the impact on the environment a pipeline may have along the way. Yet these big metal tubes are also a metaphorical connection between us and the world we live in. They connect us to the energy we need to sustain our standard of living: they connect us to the broader world in which we live and, more importantly, they connect us to each other.

Stringently enforcing environmental laws and encouraging innovation in the industry, we can create a safer and more sustainable energy source while diminishing the dependence on foreign countries that have little or no interest in environmental protection. And it is important that we have organizations like TransCanada who share this vision. While continuing to grow the energy infrastructure that is so vital to the operations of a modern world, TransCanada’s multi-layered approach to pipeline safety and materials handling help eliminate out-dated modes of environmental safety, ushering in a new era of conservation. Taking a birds-eye view, we see the importance of collaboration when we see the ways in which something like a pipeline can bring together communities, environment and the energy that makes it all run.

Rio Tinto

By: Jana Kettering Issue: Energy & The Environment Section: Jewel Of Collaboration

Green Building and Energy Efficient Leadership

Iowa The way every business is being conducted is transforming at a record rate. The impact of the worldwide stage means that local companies no longer have purely local issues and communities. That is one reason why a company-wide comprehensive approach to sustainable development is so important – what happens in one operation surely affects the ability to operate in other regions.

Rio Tinto, the world’s third largest mining company, based in London, England, is one such company that knows the value of a consistent approach regardless of geography. Rio Tinto operates in 55 countries, yet its sustainable development policy is the same for every operation.

The companies’ dedication is exhibited in Utah where Rio Tinto owns two very diverse businesses that operate in the same Salt Lake County community.

Kennecott Utah Copper (KUC) operates the Bingham Canyon Mine, which has been in operation since 1903. It is one of the few mines where the mining, concentrating, smelting and refining are done onsite. Mining may seem inconsistent with the concept of sustainable development given that it excavates non-renewable resources. However, mining supplies the minerals and metals essential to life as well as fueling significant economic prosperity in the communities in which it operates.

The fundamentals are simple: mineral exploration (find), active mining (mine) and then working to recover and reclaim former mining land (repurpose) for other uses. This cycle can be seen in such residential and commercial development uses at Kennecott Land’s (KL) Daybreak community. KL’s role in the cycle is to take former mining and buffer land and build sustainable communities.

Together, the two companies have created a long-term, thoughtful vision designed to ensure the continued operation of the mine for decades and then transition to other uses on land no longer supporting the mining operations. But that’s the end of the story. It’s the middle of the story that’s interesting.

So how does a mining and residential building company merge their vision? Through sustainable development. Sustainable development is a balanced framework to assure that decisions are made for the best possible social, environmental and economic outcomes. Together the companies work on land-use stewardship and meeting environmental targets. They conduct audits in the community assessing their impact and contributions. Their products are some of the most sustainably produced in the industry.

These companies have a mutual goal to design and construct buildings in a sustainable manner. By doing this, it makes a positive impact on the environment, economy and the people who work in these buildings. Since 2006, Rio Tinto’s Kennecott operations have produced five LEED® certified buildings, more than any other company, and they all stand within 10 miles of each other. The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED® ) Green Building Rating System is the internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. The LEED® ratings are Platinum, Gold, Silver and Certified.

Late last year, the company achieved a milestone when the Rio Tinto Regional Center was awarded LEED® Platinum Certification – the highest certification awarded from USGBC demonstrating energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. This designation is the first of its kind for Utah – and for Rio Tinto. LEED® Platinum Certification was achieved through environmentally friendly design and building standards. The project was reviewed for measures taken in categories that include sustainable sites, energy and atmosphere, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and materials use. The LEED® rating system was used to design, build and achieve areas of efficiency without increasing costs, integrating these components into the already sustainable Daybreak community. Through the building’s construction process, energy and resources were saved by recycling more than 95 percent of all construction waste, and 22 percent of all materials used were from recycled sources.

In addition, 20 percent of materials purchased were from regional suppliers, reducing transportation costs and saving energy.

Prior to achieving the pinnacle award, four other buildings were built and certified. In 2006, KL collaborated with the Jordan School District on a joint school and community center. The Daybreak Community Center and School received a LEED® Silver designation. In 2007, KUC received LEED® Silver for its Bingham Canyon Mine Administration Building and certified status for the Bingham Canyon Mine Visitors Center. In 2008, the Rio Tinto Distribution Center was constructed to achieve LEED® Silver certification and is awaiting final review and certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The buildings are sustainably planned around future transit lines, storm water resources and anticipate the needs of the companies’ future operations to benefit employees, the environment, residents and the surrounding communities. These buildings bring years of planning and vision together to fit as a piece of the sustainable development puzzle.

The green building effort’s roots started with assuring that every home built at Daybreak was ENERGY STAR® rated. Now, Daybreak is the largest ENERGY STAR® rated community in the nation. Ten local builders build within the community and all must follow strict building, design, resource conservation and material selection standards. In fact, the community is now offering High Performance homes, which exceed ENERGY STAR® standards. There are more than 2,000 homes in Daybreak with another 18,000 planned. The market is clearly responding to sustainable homes and communities as now 1 in 8 homes in the Salt Lake County Market are sold in Daybreak.

This is one of many projects that the Kennecott companies have spearheaded to conserve precious resources like energy and water.KL has laid the foundation for a community where residents can feel proud of their commitment to the environment. However, in order for Daybreak to be a true sustainable community, it must work with the residents to find new and innovative ways to conserve natural resources like water and energy. During the last three years, sustainable development managers have been tracking water and energy consumption within Daybreak, and in 2009 will begin implementing programs to reduce water and energy consumption within the community. Data already indicates consumption is less than comparable neighborhoods.

Once such program is a new outdoor watering system that reduces the amount of water wasted on sidewalks, streets and areas that do not grow grass and vegetation while focusing water penetration where it matters most – the roots. The product is made of rubber-like material that is installed in a circular pattern. When installed, the magic straw product sticks up above the ground. The magic straw is cut on the first mowing and trickles water to the roots during subsequent waterings. In 2008, the product was installed at several parks and at residents’ homes as an experiment. Residents report that the system is working well.

KUC has more than 50 energy improvement projects aimed at conserving and generating power to assure a reliable power supply for operations. Some of these projects involve measuring and reducing consumption, replacing dated pumps and motors to improve efficiency, idling reduction programs and exploring geothermal, solar and wind resources on the company’s 93,000 acres. Two facilities are utilizing the generation capacity using combined cycle gas turbines to meet future electrical load increases.

All of this progress is on top of some existing contributions. The copper smelter is one of the most technologically advanced in the industry. It co-generates about 60 percent of the plant’s electrical requirement by recovering heat from the smelting and converting furnaces which is then used for co-generation. In addition, the smelter captures 99.95 percent of sulfur emissions making it the cleanest copper smelter in the world. The refinery is in the process of installing a highly-efficient 6.2-megawatt Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system. CHP has a generating capacity of about 84 percent, a great improvement over the 50 percent at traditional power plants.

KUC is actively working to reduce emissions per ton of product produced. In 2003, Rio Tinto set aggressive, five?year GHG emission intensity and energy efficiency targets for each business unit and every year since 2000 these numbers have been shared with the public through the Sustainable Development Reports (KL began reporting in 2006).

Both KL and KUC are founding members of the Climate Registry, a regional Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting system; and the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), which is seeking a practical federal cap-and-trade program. Rio Tinto favors a federal cap-and-trade program.

The goal of the voluntary Climate Registry is to provide an accurate, complete, consistent, transparent and verified set of GHG emissions data supported by a robust reporting and verification infrastructure. Both companies will begin reporting on 2008 greenhouse gas emissions in 2009. Rio Tinto recognizes that addressing the climate change challenge will require significant changes in global energy, transportation, land management, industrial and community systems and infrastructure.

In 2007, Rio Tinto joined the USCAP, an alliance of major businesses and environmental groups encouraging federal policy to reduce GHG emissions. USCAP organizations have come together to encourage the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. USCAP believes the strongest way to achieve emission reduction goals is a federal cap-and-trade program coupled with cost containment measures and complementary policies for technology research, development and deployment, clean coal technology deployment, lower carbon transportation technologies and systems, and improved energy efficiency in buildings, industry and appliances.

Rio Tinto is well-positioned for the future with its approach to green building and environmental protections. Respect for the environment is central to Rio Tinto’s approach to sustainable development. It is a core value that operating responsibly and demonstrating leadership in all aspects of exploration, mining, processing, transporting and marketing is a factor in leading environmental performance while creating and sustaining business value.

For more information on Rio Tinto, please contact Jana Kettering at [email protected] or visit their website at www.riotinto.com.

Iowa

By: Chet Culver, Iowa Governor Issue: Energy & The Environment Section: Jewel Of Collaboration

The Nation’s Capitol for Renewable Energy Careers

Iowa Most Americans recognize that Iowa is “first in the nation” in the presidential selection process. But many are unaware of our state’s leadership role in renewable energy.

A new vision of the 21st century is taking shape in Iowa. We are building on our strengths in education, agriculture and manufacturing to literally help Iowa fuel the world and fuel our economy. Combining our leadership in biofuels with our wind energy generation, Iowa is the nation’s undisputed leader in renewable energy industries. Today, the state of Iowa exports more energy than it consumes. And we’ve enacted legislation to help Iowa achieve energy security by the year 2025.

The state of Iowa has invested heavily in the renewable energy industry by creating the $100 million Iowa Power Fund to attract cutting edge renewable energy research and development in the state and the $500 million Iowa Values Fund to offer businesses financial and technical assistance.

A variety of state initiatives are stimulating development of this 21st century economy, including programs focused on creating a pipeline of workers who will take the industry to the next level. Our investments in innovation and education will help Iowa retain its leadership position in renewable energy for years to come.

Iowa’s booming wind industry ranks first in the nation in the total percentage of power supplied by wind and second in the nation in installed wind energy output. 2,000 wind turbines stand tall on the landscape, capable of producing enough electricity to power approximately 580,000 homes each year. Iowa has proven to be the ideal location for both operating wind farms and manufacturing the turbines themselves. Our leadership and location in the epicenter of wind power development in the United States provide a solid foundation for this industry’s success.

Iowa

As a result, ten companies have located North American manufacturing, repairing and financing of wind generation equipment in the state of Iowa to put them within reach of the growing wind energy market. Clipper Windpower, John Deere Wind Energy, Siemens Power Generation Wind Power, Acciona Energy North America, TPI Composites, Sector 5 Technologies, Heartland Energy Systems, Trinity Structural Towers, Generation Repair and Service, and Elevadores Goian have all located facilities here and over 200 existing Iowa manufacturers are now in the turbine supply chain.

Key to this growth is Iowa’s access to efficient transportation connections that provide opportunities for shipping heavy equipment. Wind energy equipment is growing larger in size as higher output units are developed and manufactured. Iowa has worked very closely with turbine manufacturers and component suppliers to ensure that this equipment can be transported across Iowa without issue. Iowa’s major railroads and our Mississippi River gives businesses even more options for easy and affordable transportation.

Rail access has proved critical for Siemens of Denmark at their plant in Fort Madison where the company produces giant wind turbine blades. Each blade is 147.6 feet long and weighs 11 tons - as much as three Cadillac Escalades.

Massive turbine-generating units assembled at the Clipper Windpower plant in Cedar Rapids weigh about 140 tons and are being shipped in truckloads as far away as New York, using interstate highways.

Acciona Energy is producing its 1.5 megawatt turbines at its facility in West Branch. Later, when the development work is completed, Acciona will be producing larger three megawatt turbines. Costs of research and development are lower for companies in Iowa because of tax credits that the state extends for qualified research and development activities.

Leading in Biofuels

Iowa has been the leader in biofuels for several reasons, beginning with the fact that Iowa is the leading producer of corn and soybeans. The state has also provided a series of incentives to get new refineries off of the ground. Iowa farmers quickly seized opportunities to add value to their crops by investing millions from their own equity in the new refineries.

As a result, Iowa ranks first in the nation in the production of ethanol, E-85, biodiesel and biomass, supplying nearly one-third of the nation’s ethanol and one-fourth of the nation’s biodiesel fuel.

According to the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), Iowa has 38 ethanol refineries in operation with an annual capacity of 3 billion gallons. There are five ethanol refineries under construction adding an additional 700 million gallons of capacity.

Biofuel’s Impact on Iowa

Ethanol and biodiesel producers add substantial value to agricultural commodities produced in Iowa and make a significant contribution to the Iowa economy. Based on the size of the biofuels industry at the close of 2008 according to IRFA, ethanol and biodiesel:

Adds nearly $12 billion, or about 9 percent, to Iowa GDP

Generates $2.8 billion of household income for Iowa households

Supports nearly 83,000 jobs through the entire Iowa economy (or 5.4% of private, non-farm employment), and

Generates $576 million in state tax revenue.

POET, the company developing the first commercial-scale plant to produce cellulosic ethanol in Iowa, has just successfully tested production of ethanol from corn cobs. Jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, POET is retrofitting a $200 million plant in Emmetsburg that will use both corn cobs and corn fiber as raw materials for biofuels. These innovations will bring greater efficiency to ethanol production by increasing the amount of fuel that can be extracted from the nation’s corn crop.

Investing in Innovation

The POET project is the type of alternative fuels advancement that is the focus of Iowa’s economic development efforts. To ensure continuous biofuels innovation, Iowa has created the Iowa Power Fund to expand research into new sources and processes for renewable energy. This four year $100 million initiative will help to develop renewable power technologies and jobs of the 21st century, as well as encourage better approaches to energy efficiency. The fund will also allow us to lead in entrepreneurship, commercialization and small business development related to these advances. The Fund awarded $14.75 million to the POET Project Liberty because of its potential to have a positive impact on the biofuels industry as a whole.

Biodiesel is another clean-burning, biodegradable, alternative fuel produced from vegetable oils and animal fats. Iowa is the leading producer of biodiesel. Iowa has 14 biodiesel refineries with the capacity to produce over 317 million gallons annually. Two biodiesel refineries under construction or expansion will add 35 million gallons of annual capacity. Additional renewable fuels projects are under development.

Investing in Careers and Education

Iowa is a national leader in creating high-paying renewable energy careers.

With the dramatic expansion of renewable energy opportunities over the last few years, Iowa’s community colleges are heeding the call to provide the skills for tomorrow’s workforce. Whether companies need workers with special technology skills or a solid grasp of basic science, Iowa’s exceptional network of 15 community colleges act as a valuable resource and partner for the business community.

Industry-driven programs such as the Iowa Bioprocess Training Center in Eddyville is the only center in the nation that is designed specifically to meet the biotechnology training needs of the value-added agriculture and bioprocessing industries. Special features of the Iowa Bioprocess Training Center include a fully functional fermentation pilot plant/training laboratory, a process control training laboratory, a bioprocess training laboratory, a video classroom, and virtual reality software simulating a fermentation plant for training purposes.

The state-of-the-art educational facility operated by Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa houses an expanded two-year credit program in Bioprocess Technology, with training courses on ethanol fermentation, biodiesel, genetic engineering and fermentation, and advanced fermentation. Graduate-credit courses include genetic engineering, biotechnology and bioethics, renewable fuels and fermentation.

The renewable energy technology curriculum at the Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls includes a strong foundation in the sciences and adds specific education and hands-on laboratory training for a thorough understanding of ethanol and biodiesel processes.

Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville offers a two-year wind energy and turbine technology operation and maintenance program to help meet the growing demand for skilled technicians who can install, maintain and service modern wind turbines. More than 100 new students will enter the program in the fall of 2009.

The Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development (IAWIND) is a collaboration between Iowa’s three Regents institutions, 5 of the 15 community colleges, state and local governments and industry representatives. IAWIND was created to support the State of Iowa in its efforts to continue to attract and nurture wind energy and related industries. The combination of supportive renewable energy policies, logistic and supply chain efficiencies, competitive business climate and heritage of manufacturing excellence has led to an active and growing wind energy industry in Iowa and IAWIND is working to support each of these elements.

Western Iowa voters recently approved an $18 million bond for Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge. The bond will assist in paying for a new bioscience center, which will house a renewable-fuels quality-testing laboratory and will be the forefront of job training in the renewable-fuels industry.

In addition to the tremendous commitment of the community colleges throughout the state, our great state universities transform undergraduates into the highly qualified scientists and engineers needed at the highest level of the renewable fuels industry.

Smart Careers

The Iowa Careers Consortium is a unique public-private partnership created to meet Iowa’s growing need for highly skilled employees. It attracts qualified, skilled workers to Iowa by raising the awareness of the progressive, innovative businesses that are creating quality career opportunities. The Consortium brings together Iowa businesses, communities, educational institutions, professional associations, Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa Department of Economic Development to provide our state’s companies with trained and skilled workers.

To learn more about renewable energy careers in Iowa, visit www.smartcareermove.com or call the Iowa Department of Economic Development at 800.245.IOWA.

Clean Tech Open

By: Brian Bartony and Katie Roberts Issue: Energy & The Environment Section: Jewel Of Collaboration

Growing Startup Businesses Into Thriving Clean Tech Companies

Clean Tech Open The founding team knew when they sat down at that dining room table that they were looking for people just like themselves: ambitious, entrepreneurial, willing to take a risk, and nurturing a great idea or two. The founders could picture someone scribbling ideas on a cocktail napkin at a similar dining table. They imagined two friends debating an idea in a local coffeehouse. They could almost hear someone down the street tinkering with a new technology in his garage. Those were the people they wanted to reach. And, at that table in Palo Alto, this group discussed their ambitious plan to reach out to those folks in the coffee shop, a garage and around a table. It was important they reach out soon, because the future of the planet was at stake. The result of that conversation was the national organization known as the Clean Tech Open (CTO).

The Clean Tech Open was founded on the belief that the best way to improve and preserve the environment is through technology - in large part developed or acquired, commercialized, and taken to market by sustainable startup enterprises.

The founders knew that labs and universities, basements and coffee shops throughout the nation were teeming with ideas and solutions to pressing environmental concerns, growing energy demands and global climate change.

The goal was clear: ensure that the best and brightest ideas, and the entrepreneurs and inventors behind them, had access to the resources and support they needed to grow startup ideas into thriving clean tech companies.

“There were a number of us MIT Alums in the Bay Area that were getting together around clean tech activities,” recalls co-founder Michael Santullo. “We would attend events that started off with 20 people in a small conference room, and eventually grow to 400 people in large auditoriums. A lot of us knew we wanted to do something more. We wanted to engage in clean tech and we wanted to try and help the local community.”

These alumni heard of a program in the Boston area whereby clean technology startups were supported through a business plan competition. The Clean Tech Open founders liked that idea, but wanted to take it a step further, by offering more than cash to the winners. They wanted to offer a “business competition” that would support the winners, but also catalyze the other companies involved in the competition into viable businesses.

“Our goal was to make all of the resources available that are necessary to allow an entrepreneur in the clean technology space, to take their idea from concept to reality,” explains Marc Gottschalk, Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

The first step for these founders was to find the cash for prize money; but that isn’t the only thing start-ups need. While a few volunteers chased down potential sponsors, others planned a series of classes to help startups write a cohesive, thorough business plan that would catch the eye of potential investors. Speakers were asked to address various aspects of a business plan, including sustainability; these embryonic clean technology companies would not only be sound businesses, they’d also address the planet’s growing energy and environmental concerns.

Finally, the founders sought out a few companies to provide services. Clean tech startups tend to be heavy on the operations side, and if certain basic company needs could be handled, the cash could go toward building prototypes or seeking third party accreditation. Offers poured in, as companies from throughout the area donated marketing services, legal consulting hours, office space for a year, employee insurance, and accounting oversight.

The only step left was to find these clean technology start-ups and start them through the education and mentoring process, to select the companies most worthy of receiving the “Startup in a Box” prize package of cash and services. Clean Tech Open Four years later, this is the ledge upon which the founders of the Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open stand. After threeIssue 4 Clean Tech Open pic006 successful years in California, the model was too good to stay local. The Department of Energy has vigorously supported the founders’ ambitions to take the program to the national level. The Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open is the first regional competition to take this leap, and 2009 will be the year they fly.

“An idea that gets us very excited is the idea of having a national competition,” elaborates Santullo. “We will roll out the Clean Tech Open to other regions … hopefully having six to eight competitions running simultaneously, covering the entire country. Then at the end of the competition year, we will hold a national competition for the best teams from all over the country. We think this will be fantastic for the teams – they will get national visibility – and we also think it will help drive a lot more visibility for the competitions overall.”

The Rocky Mountain region was selected as the first regional competition because of the extraordinary infrastructure and support of industry, academia, NGOs, state and federal agencies. But really it was the founders of what would become the Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open who paved the way for national expansion.

John Brackney, Richard Franklin and Brian Bartony of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce were working with a group of concerned citizens on the Renewable Energy Task Force. They began searching for a way for the monthly meetings to address the state of the world’s energy crisis more proactively. Similar to the way the founders in California sought out a larger project after initially engaging in clean tech, several Task Force members began searching for other groups throughout other regions to gather best practices. They eventually made their way to Silicon Valley.

Brian Payer, the Clean Tech Open Programs Director in charge of National Expansion recalls, “In the summer of 2007, they found Clean Tech Open through an introduction from PG&E and contacted Mike [Santullo] and Marc [Gottschalk]. They said, ‘We’re coming on a fact-finding mission. Would you mind meeting with us for an hour or two to tell us what you’re doing?’ They also asked us if we were willing to expand, and that really forced us to address the issue of national expansion.”

Through the combined efforts of the co-founders in California and the urging of the representatives from Colorado, the Clean Tech Open began the process of becoming a more lasting and sustainable organization. By the end of 2007, Clean Tech Open was raising money to hire staff, canvassing the Department of Energy for national expansion funding, and working with the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce to explain in depth what it took to run a Clean Tech Open business competition.

“Colorado is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy clusters in the nation, and our ability to leverage the extraordinary efforts of the Clean Tech Open’s founders will benefit a whole new crop of budding entrepreneurs,” says Stephen Miller, Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open co-founder. “To be associated with the California Clean Tech Open is an honor and a privilege.”

Now at the beginning of 2009, two regions in the Western United States are set to launch their business competitions, aiming to recruit a combined 200 entrepreneurs to enter their companies in the competition. The collaborative effort will result in a staggering array of events and support. There will be monthly Breakfast Briefings detailing the competition and clean tech topics; two Executive Summary seminars to educate potential contestants how to enter the competition; six Symposia providing a deep dive into a particular clean tech topic and showcasing clean tech startup companies; 17 Summer Seminars designed to educate the companies participating in the competition; hundreds of 45-minute one-on-one sessions with business professionals at carefully coordinated Business Clinics; upwards of 100 hours of judging written Business Plans; at least 50 hours of watching Business Plan presentations; two local Awards Ceremonies; and one national Awards Gala honoring the winners of the entire national competition. These events will be supported by no less than 400 volunteers, 40 sponsors, 50 partner organizations, including labs and universities, 150 mentors, 50 judges, four staff members, and 30 Chairs volunteering their time, not to mention the financial contributions of sponsors and pro-bono services offered by speakers and advisors.

Thus far, the two affiliates have collaborated to find sponsors and partners, and properly addressed the growth of Clean Tech Open as the young company reaches eastward across the country.

“We are delighted to welcome the Rocky Mountain Clean Tech Open to the CTO family,” says Rex Northen, Executive Director for Clean Tech Open. “The RMCTO team has shown extraordinary commitment, passion and absolute professionalism in the way they have built out their plans for the launch of the first regional competition. We expect to see great things from the entrepreneurs and inventors who attend their seminars and work with their mentors.”

In early March, a delegation from Colorado will join the CTO founders in the Bay Area. Representatives from the Pacific Northwest, Iowa, New York and several other potential regions will also join together for the first Clean Tech Open Spring Summit. This weekend will consist of a retreat-style event where the national expansion seeds take full root. The founders and many volunteers from California will pass along program information, lead discussions on the best ways to run events, and brainstorm about the ideal ways to build local clean tech communities. By pooling resources across the country, in person, Clean Tech Open is ensuring that the proper education and support is given to those interested in beginning a regional competition.

Since the first competition in 2006, the overall success of the business competition is apparent. Rocky Mountain CTO is anxiously looking to add to the 84% success rate of alumni companies.

In just three years, 125 companies have raised $125 million in private funding from angel investors, grants and venture capitalists. The companies can also boast 500 employees in the clean tech sector, and have projected more than 1,200 employees by the end of 2009, which proves that clean tech is one of the few sectors currently showing major growth. Finally, the alumni companies show their success through the almost 1,000 customers they serve, including Whole Foods, Marriott Hotels, Johnson Controls, The Gillette Company, Yahoo!, Facebook and Home Depot. The technologies created by these alumni companies are solving the problem of energy waste in buildings, addressing the problems of inefficiency in public transportation, and successfully providing consumers more environmentally-friendly products and services.

The success of the alumni companies and the dedication of the hundreds of volunteers across at least six states for thousands of hours is a testament to the ambitious plans, high ideology, and environmental importance surrounding the competition.

“It’s really been rather remarkable how smooth the entire organization has been run – not just for the two of us – but even down the line in terms of how we all had the same vision for where we wanted things to go.” Gottschalk jokes, “Part of the reason, I think, is because Mike and I grew up two towns away from each other and graduated the same year from different high schools nearby in New York. So it’s that, or maybe we’re twin sons from different mothers.”

From an auspicious beginning involving a small group of people, to a nation-wide collaborative effort, Clean Tech Open is a success story full of proof that collaboration among groups can lead to major change where it is needed most.

Katie Roberts graduated from Santa Clara University with degrees in Communication and Business Marketing. Before joining the Clean Tech Open staff, Katie’s experience includes roles in marketing with a Bay Area home builder, and the San Jose Sharks. She is the Communications Chair for the local Santa Clara Alumni Chapter, and spends many hours per month volunteering with Hands-On Bay Area. Katie is originally from Colorado and enjoys running, skiing and any outdoor activity.