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Keystone
Ideas helped an inventor bring his design
of a freestanding drum pedal to fruition.
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Philadelphia drummer Mark Cubranich had an idea
for an invention—a freestanding pedal so
a drummer could practice without drums. He sought
help locally in turning his idea into reality.
He started working with someone—but then,
Cubranich remembers, the person never returned
his calls.
"I got frustrated," said Cubranich.
"You've got this great idea for a product
and you don't know how to get it made. You're
kind of lost."
Then someone referred Cubranich to Keystone
Ideas at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College's
Plastics Technology Center.
"[Keystone Ideas] accepted my idea and
laid it all out for me, and we got rolling,"
he said. In about a year, the product was on
the retail market. "I could not have done
this without Keystone Ideas' support."
Keystone Ideas—initiated in 2002 as a Ben
Franklin Technology Partners of Central and
Northern Pennsylvania Center of Excellence and
supported by the Northwest Pennsylvania Industrial
Resource Center—is making a name for itself
among Pennsylvania-based entrepreneurs seeking
to realize their life's dream.
In a systematic way, the center helps people
evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an idea and
then, should they decide to go forward, guide
them through a product realization cycle.
"Entrepreneurs are thrilled to have a group
like us to work with," said center engineer
Tom Moyak. "Because we are of a nonprofit
nature, they feel a strong bond of trust."
Discoveries
to Market
In other Penn State small business initiatives,
the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
and the Penn State College of Medicine last
fall offered business skills courses to teach
faculty researchers how to take their discoveries
to the marketplace. The series, called FastTrac,
provided a course on business feasibility analysis
and another on business planning.
"[The program] is part of our larger commitment
to focus on the dissemination of research,"
said Dr. Alan Snyder, director of the Office
of Technology Development in the College of
Medicine.
Pay
Dirt
In the intensive 12-week "Tilling the Soil
of Opportunity" course taught by Cooperative
Extension educators statewide and coordinated
by Dr. Jeffrey Hyde of Penn State's College
of Agricultural Sciences, farmers and business
owners can learn, among other things, how to
create a business plan.
"The initiative helps producers compete
in today's market," said Cooperative Extension
educator Ken Balliet, who teaches the course
in Lewisburg. He cited farm market owner Alan
Ard who after the course incorporated a corn
maze as a fall activity, supporting the investment
with sales in ancillary events and products.
"It's all about people getting the spark
of entrepreneurship," he said.
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U.S.
Steel helped fund Penn State McKeesport's
new student center. |
Penn State's relationship with United States
Steel began 15 years ago when Penn State McKeesport
chemistry faculty developed and delivered a
one-day course on the environment for U.S. Steel
Mon Valley Works, one of the company's facilities.
That first connection has led to a variety of
other education programs, partnerships and a
$75,000 gift from U.S. Steel to Penn State McKeesport.
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In short, "They've done
a lot and we've done a lot," said Dr. Susan
Lewis, director of Penn State McKeesport Continuing
Education.
Rita Kopelman, training manager of U.S. Steel
Mon Valley Works, added: "The relationship
is driven by Penn State's professionalism and
their intention to satisfy our needs. We have
a long relationship and look forward to continuing
it."
It is the type of reciprocal partnership envisioned
in a recent Kellogg Commission report on the
future of state universities and land-grant
institutions: "It is time to go beyond
outreach and service to what the Kellogg Commission
now defines as ‘engagement' ... by engagement
the Commission envisions partnerships, two-way
streets defined by mutual respect among partners
for what each brings to the table."
-
THE
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Penn
State McKeesport Continuing Education
has delivered more than $2.5 million
worth of business to U.S. Steel, with
courses covering everything from mechanics
to maintenance training to workplace
transactions to communications. The
most recent course is a "Learner
Program"—teaching employees
how to master multiple crafts.
- U.S.
Steel contributed $75,000 to help
fund the new student center at Penn
State McKeesport.
- U.S.
Steel has contributed a total of more
than $2.6 million to Penn State. The
gifts have gone to the departments
of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, and Material Sciences
and Metals, and the Institute for
Science and Technology.
- Since
1998, U.S. Steel has funded more than
$222,000 in research contracts with
Penn State.
- There
are more than 220 Penn State alumni
working at U.S. Steel. President of
U.S. Steel John Surma is a graduate
of the Smeal College of Business.
- U.S.
Steel has conducted more than a dozen
recruiting efforts at Penn State,
and Penn State McKeesport has placed
a number of interns at the company.
- U.S.
Steel gave a $1 million gift of steel
to the University.
- U.S.
Steel Mon Valley Works is a scheduled
stop on the 2004 Road Scholars Tour.
Penn State faculty can observe the
steel-making process firsthand.
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Dean
Judy Olian and her guests take calls
from the audience.
Dave
Shelly—Campus Photography |
Penn State Public Broadcasting's monthly program
About Business tackles current business
issues impacting the region and the nation.
Host Dr. Judy Olian, dean of the Smeal College
of Business, and her guests respond live to
questions from listeners and viewers about topics
ranging from how to negotiate to new business
startups. "It's primarily a community service
to bring the expertise of Smeal faculty and
our extended network of business partners and
alumni to the local community," said Olian
about the show.
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A new report urges Pennsylvania
to make a greater investment in education and
workforce training. "Pennsylvania, quite
simply, is squandering the enormous human and
material investment it has made in its older communities
in three centuries. ... We recommend that Pennsylvania
invest heavily in education and training, promote
development in key select industries, and focus
on industries that promote the revitalization
of older communities," states "Back
to Prosperity: A Competitive Agenda for Renewing
Pennsylvania," issued by The Brookings Institution
Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy (http://www.brookings.edu/pennsylvania).
"This report has the potential to be a landmark
contribution to policy discussion and change in
Pennsylvania," said Dr. Frederick D. Loomis,
director of the University's Workforce Education
and Development Outreach Initiative, a new collaboration
between the College of Education and Penn State
Outreach. Loomis added that Penn State has the
expertise and statewide outreach capability to
aid the Commonwealth in addressing the issues
outlined in the report.
According to Loomis, Penn State is committed to
enhancing its leadership role in providing workforce
education and development within the Commonwealth
and beyond. Plans include training programs in
the areas of health care, entrepreneurship and
innovation, technology, teacher education, transition
from school to work for the disabled, and homeland
security.
Workforce Education and Development Program faculty—who
are involved with research and service activities
with the state Department of Education and other
organizations—will provide expertise for the
initiative.
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In today's world of the "virtual"
organization, challenges and opportunities are constantly
changing.
"Organizations used to have
time to react," says Dr. Wesley Donahue, director
of Penn State Management Development Programs and
Services. "Now they are managing at the speed
of light."
Donahue explains that good communication is often
the key to leading a productive workplace: "How
do you get people to communicate better and work
as a team and focus their energies on the challenges
they face?"
That question is explored during Management Development's
series of one-day Leadership Edge seminars, which
runs each fall throughout the state for managers,
supervisors and team leaders in a wide range of
fields.
Management Development's faculty lead sessions that
include such topics as "Communicating with
Respect," "Resolving Conflicts,"
and "Ethics," among others.
Stacey Bell, a manager at the Bank of Lancaster
County, took the course last year and found that
she is already applying the information she learned
in the workplace. "I have used this information
to help me pinpoint the personality styles of my
direct reports," she said. "This way I
know how to approach or discuss items with these
individuals." |
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