Resources

Enter Florida Gulf Coast UniversityÕs Center for Leadership and Innovation. Established well before the university opened in 1997, the CLI is a partnership between the university and local businesses. "Our mission is to serve the needs of the business community in Southwest Florida and the community in general," says director Doug Steele. "Our objectives are always to listen to the needs of the business community and to respond either on our own or in partnership with others locally, nationally or internationally."

ThatÕs exactly what happened with NCH. "We wanted to develop a curriculum beneficial for our physicians as we relate to new challenges in health care," says NCH president Allen Weiss. As a result of the collaboration with the CLI, a mini Executive Masters of Business Administration program was created for NCH physicians interested in additional education.

Creating such programs is only a piece of the centerÕs repertoire. The CLI, which is an integral part of FGCUÕs College of Business and which oversees the Small Business Development Center, is a consortium of educational offerings. Under the umbrella of the Center for Technology Education, the center offers technical training such as Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Certified Network Administrator and Certified Internet Webmaster programs for information technology professionals. The center also offers certified financial planner certification, Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) education programs for the medical community, individual counseling and tailored solutions for small businesses and continuing education programs.

While the idea is not unique to FGCU, the manner in which its center interacts with the local business community certainly is. In fact, representatives from other schools across the country as well as other countries have contacted Steele to learn about the program and how to start one at their institutions.

"More and more universities are being urged to connect with the needs of the communities in which they sit," says Dick Pegnetter, dean of the College of Business at FGCU. "Universities can be huge resources, but if they take an ivory tower approach, they do nothing to help with their communityÕs economic development." In addition, university faculty and students benefit by making connections with the business community.

The center is unique because it has the power to act quickly without being mired in bureaucracy, Steele says. "The heart of our educational programs is responding to the communityÕs need to develop tomorrowÕs business leaders today," he says. "We listen to whatÕs going on in the business community and we respond."

Most of the centerÕs support services and counseling are free. Continuing education classes and other certification programs have tuition costs. Individual contracts can be arranged, depending on the nature and intensity of the service needed by businesses.

The center also has helped various government entities. One such client is the Lee County Health Department, which needed help developing a statistical analysis to measure two programsÕ effectiveness. According to Steven Mitnick, a nurse practitioner and organizational planning manager with the Health Department, it was no small order. "We needed their help to draw that proverbial line in the sand and to put measures in place to ask the right questions," he says.

When Steve Tirey, president of The Chamber of Southwest Florida, decided to survey hundreds of the regionÕs firms to gain a sense of the business climate and outlook for 2003, he also consulted with the center. SteeleÕs team helped the chamber collect research, which revealed growing optimism in Southwest FloridaÕs economy and was presented at the chamberÕs Regional Economic Outlook conference. "Working with CLI was a great experience," Tirey says.

VITAL CONTACTS

Center for Leadership and Innovation

12751 Westlinks Drive

Building III-Unit 7

Fort Myers, FL 33913

(239) 225-4200

www.fgcu.edu/cob/cli