The Business Schools at UC Berkeley and Columbia University Join Forces with The Goldman Sachs Foundation to Create The National Social Venture Competition

Business Wire, Sept 4, 2001

Background:

The Haas School of Business and The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, is one of the leading producers of new ideas and knowledge in all areas of business and is also influenced by its proximity to Silicon Valley. In 1970 Haas became one of the first business schools to teach entrepreneurship. In 1991 it established The Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to foster academic programs, community outreach and campus wide collaboration in new-venture creation, entrepreneurship and venture capital. This emphasis on entrepreneurship, coupled with the Haas School's commitment to the social and environmental ramifications of business, which dates back to its founding in 1898, creates a unique learning environment that gave birth to the National Social Venture Competition in 1999.

The Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School

The Eugene M. Lang Center at Columbia Business School serves as a living laboratory for student entrepreneurial ventures. The unique approach to entrepreneurship education at Columbia Business School combines a systematic integration of entrepreneurial themes throughout the core curriculum, a strong elective course program, rigorous hands-on lab courses and a commitment to making entrepreneurship a viable career option for students. Mentors, largely successful alumni, provide vigorous, high-level advice and guidance throughout the business development process and the eventual start-up. The Lang Center also supports socially responsible ventures and has created a distinctive model for developing an entrepreneurial network that will be carried into the National Social Venture Competition.

The Goldman Sachs Foundation

The Goldman Sachs Foundation aims to develop and support tomorrow's global leaders by creating innovative programs that promote educational excellence worldwide. Founded in 1999 with a $200 million donation from the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., The Goldman Sachs Foundation partnered with other leading philanthropic and educational organizations to create, nurture and expand breakthrough programs that stimulate learning, creativity and leadership among young people.