Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit

The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team captured the Rookie of the Year award when it advanced to the 2006 SIFE USA National Competition in Kansas City, Missouri. As a champion award recipient at the regional level, Penn State Altoona's team was one of 160 that competed at the national level. The Altoona SIFE team received its charter in January 2006 and had twenty-one student members for its inaugural year. SIFE is an international, non-profit organization that gives students the tools to learn the free enterprise system in a real working situation. SIFE challenges students on more than 1,000 college campuses in forty countries to employ the knowledge that they are learning in the classroom to better their communities.

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter recently announced the award of a $300,000 grant to the Entrepreneurial Institute, a collaborative effort of Penn State Altoona and the Altoona Blair County Development Corporation. The funds will be used to support curriculum development, program activities, and technology upgrades at the Institute. Launched in 2002 to serve as a business idea incubator, the Entrepreneurial Institute provides students with a laboratory for entrepreneurship, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to open businesses, generate revenues, hire and motivate employees, and enhance overall economic development in Blair County.

The Institute is built on a strong foundation of working relationships with key community leaders in business, government, and nonprofit agencies.

Penn State Altoona also has received a commitment of $25,000 from C&G Savings Bank in support of the college's Entrepreneurship Program. The C&G Savings Bank Endowed Enhancement Fund will provide critical funding for initiatives such as the Entrepreneurial Institute and Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), programs that provide students with opportunities to gain hands-on learning experience while developing leadership and communication skills.