Mansfield University Home PageEdward Foote Named to Head Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
October 21, 2009
MANSFIELD, PA— Edward Foote has been named director of the new Mansfield University Center for Entrepreneurial 
Leadership (MCEL). He will be responsible for the program development and operations of the Center.
In making the announcement, Provost Peter Keller said, “Mr. Foote will significantly enhance the capacity of Mansfield to support entrepreneurship across the Twin Tiers region served by the University. His presence will also support our strong emphasis on leadership development. “
“This is an exciting opportunity for me, Mansfield University and the surrounding communities,” Foote said. “Entrepreneurs can add great value to our local economies and communities, and Center of Entrepreneurial Leadership will be devoted to encouraging and assisting entrepreneurial action.”
Foote is a veteran economic development professional, and has served in several positions in the region. He holds a civil engineering degree from Union College in Schenectady, NY, and an MBA with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and New Ventures Analysis, and Marketing, from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Foote ran the Regional Economic Development and Energy Corporation (REDEC) loan fund serving Steuben, Schuyler and Chemung Counties in New York. He created the Keuka Business Park and ran the Keuka Business Incubator in Penn Yan.
More recently, as the first executive director of Alfred Technology Resources, Inc., developer of the $10 million Ceramics Corridor project, he was responsible for the start up and operation of the Ceramics Corridor Innovation Centers in Painted Post and Alfred, NY. Under Foote’s direction, the Centers helped start or assist some two dozen businesses, including Xylon Ceramic Materials, Inc. and Silicon Carbide Products, Inc., which both won small business of the year awards.
Silicon Carbide Products, located in the Airport Business Park in Horseheads, has annual revenues that exceed $10 million and employs more than 20 people.
The mission of the Mansfield University Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership is to promote the development of an entrepreneurial culture on and off campus, and to encourage and assist entrepreneurial action.
Early plans include the creation of a Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization on campus, an entrepreneur of the year award, and a survey on attitudes towards entrepreneurship.
MU was awarded a three-year grant from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) to develop the MCEL. “Students will have an increased awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities and will build their skills,” Susan Sweet, director of the Center for Lifelong Learning, said. “Mansfield University is looking forward to strengthening partnerships with businesses and stimulating economic growth within the region.”
Sweet, who was instrumental in MU receiving the grant and is overseeing the launch of the MCEL, envisions that The Center will enhance internships for students and entrepreneurial alumni will contribute to the Center’s success.
