JGSM Park Fellows make lasting contributions to school and community

By Franklin Crawford

The Alternatives Federal Credit Union (AFCU) in downtown Ithaca is about to sign a contract with its first socially responsible business Venture Capital Fund investment thanks in large part to ongoing assistance from students in the Park Leadership Fellows Program at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management.

"The Park Fellows put just a phenomenal amount of energy and resources into this project," said William Myers, AFCU manager, referring to Michael Emery and Chad Updyke, two students who were following through on groundbreaking work begun by last year's Park Fellows. "They have helped us with everything -- from legal contracts to spread sheet analysis, and it has sped up the process substantially."

The AFCU Venture Capital Fund was just one of 14 projects presented during the annual Park Fellowship projects presentations on May 3 in Sage Hall. They included an impressive range of local, campus and regional community service projects, some new and some ongoing, that are the heart of the Johnson School's Park Fellows program.

Inaugurated in 1997 with a $5.9 million gift from the Park Foundation, the program covers tuition and provides a stipend for 60 exemplary MBA students at Cornell. In return, Park fellows must undertake a service leadership project that leaves something of lasting value in the community and take part in the Johnson School's "leadership" curriculum.

The following is a list of the other Park fellows projects and the students who ran them:

• The Dean's Fellowship: A plan to help attract and support minority students coming into the Johnson School (Kendra Armer, Eliza Moore).

• Community Foundation of Tompkins County: Helped in developing and assisting in the creation of a strategic plan to launch this nonprofit institution operated as a repository for charitable funds and as a grant-making entity (Chad Proell).

• Leadership in Dynamic Organizations Conference: Organized a two-day corporate conference at the Johnson School that focused on leadership development and attracted more than 100 participants (Mark Fraioli, Christina Tunnah).

• Leadership Benchmarking Study: Conducted a study of leadership development efforts of 12 corporate programs and five other business schools (Scott Hansing, Chris Patterson).

• Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) -- The College Connection Program: Building on a Park program from last year, developed and implemented a program to promote awareness of college opportunities and guidance in the college application process for Ithaca teens.

• The Downtown Partnership -- the Ithaca Museum Store: Conducted a feasibility study for creating and launching an Ithaca Museum Store on the Ithaca Commons (Rob Carter, Brian Mangene, Nick Mangiapane).

• Southside Community Center Capital Campaign -- Helped develop a plan to strengthen the organizational structure of the center and launch a capital campaign (Dang Bui, Eric Clawson, Bill Holevoet and Phillip Stolz).

• Marketing Plan for Paleontological Research Institute Geology Guide: Developed a marketing plan for the institute's teacher-friendly geology guide (Jon Stokes).

• Park Leadership Fellows Alumni Program: Created and launched in 2001, the alumni program will serve as a pilot for other affinity programs at the Johnson School (Brian Thomas, Susie Welgos).

• Shoals Marine Laboratory Marketing Strategy: Conducted an analysis to develop an integrated and targeted educational program design and marketing strategy at the Cornell-affiliated program located in Maine (Sean Alexander, Blake Sprayberry).

• Business Incubator Program Plan: Conducted a study to assess the feasibility of and demand for a Cornell-based business incubator (Jeff Fenigstein, Edwin Hong, Brian Silver, Chia-lin Simmons).

• Finger Lakes Aquaculture: Developed a strategic plan for a business producing a high quality seafood source (tilapia) in the region (James Balet, Bill Weld).

• College of Human Ecology Alumni Program: Working with college alumni and administration, developed a new alumni development structure, materials, resources and programming effort (Jennifer Sale).

The Park Foundation is named for Roy H. Park, the late media entrepreneur and Ithaca resident. Roy H. Park Jr., Cornell trustee and Park Foundation vice president, along with his mother, Dorothy Park, sister, Adelaide Gomer, and daughter, Elizabeth Fowler, are family trustees of the foundation.