COB SBI: From Past to Present to Future

by Pam Hart,  MBA, East Carolina University 1986

Former (and second) SBI director, Pam Hart, visits the college, reflects on the program’s history. Also pictured is Dr. Mike Harris, left.

Miller School Director Dr. Mike Harris recently had the opportunity to play host and give a College tour to Pam Hart, COB MBA ’86 alumnus and the second director of College of Business’ (COB) Small Business Institute® (SBI). Below is Ms. Hart’s recap of the visit. Enjoy the read! 

On an April visit to Greenville with my husband, it was my pleasure to meet Dr. Michael L. Harris. Dr. Harris is the SBI director, director of the Miller School of Entrepreneurship and COB professor at ECU.

Dr. Harris invited me to visit the Miller School and see how the SBI program has grown since the day I resigned my positions as lecturer in the Department of Management and director of the SBI in the spring of 1995 to accompany my husband, Dave, to Florida State University.

Needless to say, I was amazed and proud of the progress the SBI has made and the vision Dr. Harris has for the SBI and the Miller School. The student experience offered within the Miller School provides a platform for talented students from many curriculums across campus to develop their entrepreneurial ideas and have real-world work experiences as part of their education.

Past Catches up with Present

It was an emotional return to the halls of the Bate Building and the COB on East Carolina University’s campus. Flashes of my past as an MBA student in the mid-1980s and all the great professors I learned from while in the program all went through my mind. Dr. R.B. “Buck” Keusch, the founder of the SBI, was one of my professors during my last semester of the MBA program. Upon receiving my MBA, Dr. Keusch sat down with me and discussed my interest in becoming director of the SBI. Dr. Gene Hughes, Department of Management chair, approved, and I joined the department as a lecturer and became the second director of the SBI.

At that time, the Small Business Administration funded the SBI. The large third-floor corner office of the Bate Building served as my office and home base for SBI student teams to meet, make calls, compile work and brainstorm ideas. Working with the dedicated senior-level students who took the Small Business Management class was the opportunity of a lifetime!  During the semester, our student teams worked directly with small-business owners as advisors, gathering data and drawing on the expertise of SCORE executives to develop a business plan that addressed the needs of each business owner. At the end of the semester, each student group presented their findings and logic for their recommendations to their business owner and presented the client a written business plan to carry out their recommendations.

Steve Childers was my assistant during my tenure at ECU. His knowledge, patience and direct involvement with the SBI’s students daily brought the program its first “Case of the Year” award. Upon my departure, I was pleased that Steve accepted the role as the third director of the SBI and continued to move the program forward.

I hope to keep my friendship with Dr. Harris and follow the growth and success of the Miller School of Entrepreneurship.

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