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SUNY Canton Professor Helps Present Award-Winning Economic Research

Mentorship can help create continual economic growth in impoverished communities.

Canton, NY (11/03/2017) — A SUNY Canton professor looks at mentoring young entrepreneurs to help stimulate the economy in Haiti and other countries facing economic difficulties.

Charles R. Fenner, Ph.D., who is the curriculum coordinator for the Management program, presented research titled "A Phenomenological Examination of Nongovernmental Organizations in Mentoring Entrepreneurship in Haiti," with Pierreline Mwanza, Ph.D., of Northcentral University in San Diego. Their research was selected as best paper by the Academy of Business Research at a fall conference in Atlantic City, N.J.

"Mentors can teach young entrepreneurs strategies to sharpen their analytic and problem-solving skills," Fenner said. "Whether it's in Haiti or right here in the North Country, mentorship is always beneficial to the success of a business venture."

Haiti has been struggling to promote economic development for over 30 years, according to the research. Nongovernmental organizations have been commissioned to help the situation, but those organizations do not yet widely mentor future business owners. Mwanza spoke with employees from those organizations to see how they could overcome the barriers to business ownership and looked at ways that the nation can make lasting economic improvements.

"The ten participants of the study view mentoring entrepreneurship as a major component in an ongoing plan to achieve economic stability," Mwanza said. "Leaders at the educational level should implement networking to help every novice entrepreneur grow professionally and create an enriching relationship."

By introducing a mentorship scenario, young business owners can successfully use their previous knowledge and education to create a lasting enterprise. New entrepreneurs who receive the influential support from their mentors to build their self-confidence, increase their motivation level and create insight can then pass what they've learned on to others in the future.

Fenner has previously presented for the Academy of Business Research with SUNY Canton alumnus and Adjunct Instructor Douglas G. Zeif, who runs a multimillion-dollar hospitality consulting firm. Fenner also received a past award for his research analyzing college administration and leadership types.

SUNY Canton's Management program integrates many of the same concepts relayed in the presentation. Fenner has mentored students who wish to start their own business after college. The popular bachelor's degree program recently earned the college a 2018 Most Affordable Online Colleges ranking from SR Education Group.

About SUNY Canton

SUNY Canton is Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs. The college delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, health, management and public service and recently received number one rankings in library resources, library services and tutoring services in the SUNY Student Opinion Survey. The college's faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 13 exclusively online degrees. The college's 15 athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level and are conference members of the newly formed American Collegiate Athletic Association. For more information, visit www.canton.edu

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