Setting the firm foundations of great entrepreneurial communities are businesses, organizations, and individuals who are keenly involved and working in the shadows. They ensure the entire community is able to grow by providing resources, from monetary assets to human capital, and they work tirelessly to promote others. This week, Emerging Prairie is featuring one such entity as a Fargo Startup Community Pillar: the Offutt School of Business and its Dean, Greg Cant. Recently named as the business school at Concordia College, Offutt and Cant intend to build entrepreneurial mindsets and make connections between students and community members at large.

In most recent years, Dean Cant has pushed for more faculty and student involvement in Fargo’s overarching community. He has accomplished this through inclusionary events and a desire to benefit the region instead of merely Concordia College.

Last April, prominent philanthropic businessman Bill Gates paid a visit to Concordia as a guest speaker during the unveiling of the new Offutt School. Although this event provided high levels of publicity for Cant’s affiliated schools, large amounts of invitations were extended to high school students as well as students and faculty of the five area universities. The Offutt School and its leaders are continuing this open model by initiating new projects with a focus on making community connections.

Cant says that one of the Offutt School’s biggest contributions to the Fargo startup community is its array of resources. Participants of Startup Weekend Fargo 2014 experienced this during the 54-hour event that was predominantly hosted in the Offutt School and Concordia’s Barry Auditorium. On April 26, Cant and the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation will be hosting a social entrepreneurship discussion with Jim Ziolkowski, founder of BuildOn. Events like these propel thoughts of innovation and the idea that it is possible to make a change in the world starting in Fargo.

Personally, Cant has been involved in numerous entrepreneurial events and discussions during his time as Dean of the Offutt School. From TEDx attendance to assisting in presentations at Fargo’s HealthPitch (wearing only a poorly-designed hospital gown, no less), Cant understands what it means to be a part of the community as an academic institution.

“It’s a no brainer,” Cant claims. The Offutt School has a direct interest in the economic development of the Fargo-Moorhead area, and Cant believes entrepreneurial passion lies at the heart of that process. By linking students and faculty to the greater community, the Offutt School can provide social value that will pay dividends in the form of future support for all parties involved.

The Offutt School is currently developing academic opportunities for students to become acquainted with social entrepreneurship and how that field can play out in the Fargo community. The intent is to educate students – business and non-business alike – about the rapidly emerging for-purpose sector and then train them to be stewards of our global resources. New faculty member and expert marketing professional Susan Geib is spearheading this project in collaboration with members of the entrepreneurial community.

Also housed in the Offutt School of Business is West Central Minnesota’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The SBDC is a government-affiliated entity that serves entrepreneurs in the area through costless consulting and business development assistance, among many other things. The Offutt School is creating another set of community links here by providing this space for Fargo-Moorhead entrepreneurs to interact with SBDC representatives as well as students.

In response to what Fargo can do to help the Offutt School in its efforts, Cant simply hopes that the community will continue to utilize the school as a hub for entrepreneurship events and resources. “Help us be more a part of that community,” Cant says, “and let’s build a stronger community together.”