Special Programs

While more than 85% of Connecticut State University System students graduate to become part of the lifeblood of Connecticut's economy, our special programs are another outstanding way we support the business community. Read below for general information about CSUS institutes, programs and initiatives -- and how they may help you.

CSUS Featured Special Program: Small Business Development Centers

to be located at Connecticut State University System Institutions

The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the selection of the Connecticut State University System to host the Connecticut Small Business Development Center (SBDC). 

Connecticut's SBDC will be located in Central Connecticut State University’s Institute of Technology & Business Development (ITBD), with subcenters to be located at Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut State Universities, as well as the Department of Economic and Community Development’s Office of Small Business. The cooperative agreement took effect on January 1, 2007.

The SBA will provide a first-year grant for nine months of $703,270, which will be matched by a State of Connecticut and other nonfederal grants of $930,255, for a total project cost of $1,633,525.After the first year, the SBA grant for a full year will be $938,000.

“The SBA is pleased to welcome CCSU into the SBA family,” said Bernard M. Sweeney, SBA Connecticut District Director. “We are excited about this choice and believe that the University’s vision and track record for providing value-added service to Connecticut’s small business community will be a tremendous boost to the state’s economy.”

Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell hailed the SBA’s selection of CCSU and the Connecticut State University System as “a very good fit, because it links their strong business and technology programs with the state’s entrepreneurs and business community.”

The Connecticut Small Business Development Center Program is designed to deliver up-to-date counseling, training and technical assistance in all aspects of small business management. CSBDC services include, but are not limited to, assisting small businesses with financial, marketing, production, organization, engineering and technical problems and feasibility studies. Special CSBDC programs and economic development activities include international trade assistance, technical assistance, procurement assistance, venture capital formation and rural development.

Larry McHugh, chair of the CSUS Board of Trustees, said: “As president of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce, I am also very excited. The SBDC is a vital tool for all businesses in the state. We have worked with the staff of the SBDC for a long time and have enjoyed excellent results.”

CSUS Chancellor David G. Carter Sr. noted: “We want to further strengthen the relationship with the small business community, to help them enhance their economic viability and to provide a skilled and well-educated workforce that will benefit Connecticut’s economic growth. ”

The CSBDC is the unique result of a partnership that includes CCSU, the State of Connecticut, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the private sector.

Mandated by Congress, the CSBDC is the only organization that represents this broad-based partnership to small businesses.

Jack Miller, CCSU’s president, added: “This will enable CCSU to augment its role as the premier developer of human potential in Connecticut. Partnering with the Small Business Administration, we will leverage our significant strength in providing real-world, career-focused education in a wide range of business, technology and related fields to benefit our state’s small-business community.

“Building on CCSU’s successful Institute for Technology & Business Development (ITBD), we offer the professional and educational resources of our university, including students and faculty, to provide business management assistance to the small business community,” Miller said.

CSBDCs also make special efforts to reach minority members of socially and economically disadvantaged groups, veterans, women and the disabled. Assistance is provided to both current or potential small business owners.

ITBD Managing Director Richard C. Mullins pointed out: “This new partnership marks a significant step forward in the expansion of ITBD’s services to Connecticut businesses and is thus a major development in the Chancellor’s initiative to link education, business and government in a process promoting economic growth in the state.” More information about the ITBD can be found at the website: www.ccsu.edu/ITBD/.

Additional special programs:

To be posted.