Rao Unnava, associate dean for undergraduate programs, and Michael Camp, academic director for the Center for Entrepreneurship, listen to Matthew Orr deliver an elevator pitch at the Dean's Leadership Conference. Photographs of the day's events, DLC award winners and young entrepreneurs can be viewed in a slideshow.

A group of very young aspiring entrepreneurs joined local business leaders in a day of business challenges and networking with talented Fisher undergraduates during this year’s Dean’s Leadership Conference (DLC).

Managed and organized by Fisher’s undergraduate students, the May 2 conference's theme was “Initiate. Innovate. Inspire: Leadership through Entrepreneurship.” This year’s event was designed to give students the experience of a day in the life of an entrepreneur.

The teams of undergraduates developed business plans for a variety of entrepreneurial projects to pitch to area business leaders who served as board members at the conference.

A new twist in this year’s DLC team assignments were products all developed by area middle school students who participate in the Invention Convention program. Invention Convention provides students from kindergarten through eighth grade opportunities to create and problem solve while developing their own inventions.

"The inventions presented by the middle school students during the DLC were quite impressive," said Michael Camp, academic director of Fisher's Center for Entrepreneurship. "They were as poised as you would expect seasoned entrepreneurs to be and were able to answer the judges questions clearly and accurately. Two judges even asked, 'where do we send our investment checks?' ”

The Invention Convention products were ROSS, Remote Operated Stop Stick, a device for law enforcement officials designed to stop a car safely during a high-speed chase; Work-Out Wonder, a stability device for athletic training, rehabilitation and physical therapy, and Cold Conqueror, a nano-encapsulated nasal spray to help fight the common cold.

Those products were offered along with entrepreneurial projects from area non-profit organizations, including United Cerebral Palsy of Central Ohio and the “A Kid Again,” a respite and recreation program for terminally ill children and their families. Read More>

This year’s Fisher 5K, held on April 26, broke fundraising records collecting $21,500 for the Columbus chapter of the Boys and Girls Club, according to Jonathan Yoon, president of FisherServes, sponsor of the race.

However, efforts to help the youth organization didn't end at the race's finish line. Students in the Executive MBA graduating cohort kicked in with their own fundraising effort by contributing an additional $3,497.59, according to Carol Newcomb, executive director of Executive Education.

“This year’s amount of $21,500 represents a 43-percent increase over the 2008 contribution of $15,000,” Yoon said. “The event registered 612 runners, a 28-percent increase in participants over last year.”

“Several members of FisherServes put in a ton of work behind the scenes,” Yoon said.

The event was chaired by Kumar Parekh. Adam McCuiston led marketing efforts; Lauren Ross served as volunteer coordinator, Kara Towner-Larsen headed fundraising and Shireesh Annam managed the event’s finances.

Money from the EMBA students was collected during the graduating cohorts’ dinner,” Newcomb said. The dinner was organized by George Bray and Ted Bojanowski.

“This was an awesome effort," said Karen Hopper Wruck, associate dean of the MBA program. "It truly demonstrates the levels of success that can be achieved when we work across the college and put our collective talent behind an important cause.”

Wolfe Scholarship for study abroad is presented to G. Michael Bowen by John F. Wolfe.

G. Michael Bowen, a 2006 graduate of Cleveland Heights High School, was honored on Tuesday, May 5, by The Ohio State University Office of International Affairs at the 10th annual Wolfe Study Abroad Recognition Luncheon.

Scholarship recipients were congratulated at the luncheon by Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee and John F. Wolfe, chairman and CEO of the Dispatch Printing Co. Bowen, a junior at Fisher, was one of 22 student recipients of a $2,000 scholarship.

An operations management major with a minor in natural resources management, Bowen will use his scholarship to study in the Netherlands during the 2009 autumn quarter.

“My time abroad will allow me the opportunity to experience first-hand the operations of world leaders in renewable energy and sustainable technology as well as the supreme enormity of international trade through one of the world’s largest port cities. Not only will I gain important insight to the intricacies of my projected profession; I will gain a better understanding of global dynamics, increase my communication ability significantly, and have the experience of a lifetime,” said Bowen.

To receive the scholarship, students must be a full-time student of sophomore, junior, or senior rank; a minimum overall GPA of 2.75; be an Ohio resident who has graduated from an Ohio high school and admitted to an Ohio State approved quarter/summer-long study abroad program.

Title: Program Coordinator, Center for International Business and Education Research

Hobbies: "Gourmet cooking, herb gardening and listening to jazz music."

Fisher Lure: "I was in the MBA program 10 years ago, so coming back to work for Fisher is like home coming. I am so glad to work with my former professors and re-connect with some of my classmates."