October 22, 2007, at 4:45 p.m.
University Events Room
Glickman Family Library, 7th floor
Portland USM Campus
(map)
Microbusinesses play a very important role in economic development throughout the New England region. The majority of businesses in the region are microbusinesses, and they contribute 20 percent to the employment base and an estimated $56 billion in gross state product to the region. This session will focus on a recent study conducted at the University of Maine that analyzed the economic impact and importance of microbusinesses to the New England economy. The presentation will explore how microbusinesses impact rural economies and will identify and discuss important demographic, spatial and policy factors that influence microbusiness activity.
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Jim McConnon is an Extension Business and Economics Specialist and Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Maine. He joined the faculty of the University of Maine in 1989. Dr. McConnon’s work is primarily in the areas of small business management, entrepreneurship and retail trade. Dr. McConnon has conducted hundreds of educational workshops and seminars across the state and region on topics related to business development such as marketing, pricing, business planning, customer service, and financial management. More than 5,000 Maine people have participated in his educational programs.
Dr. McConnon also conducts the Trade Area Analysis Extension program, which he co-developed while at Iowa State University.
Dr. McConnon conducts applied research in support of his Extension programs. His research has focused on topics such as: regional retail trade patterns, economic impact analysis, economic importance of home-based and micro-enterprises, and small business development. He was a co-investigator on a four-year USDA Fund for Rural America project looking at grocery store retailing in rural Maine. He was recently a co-investigator on a funded project to enhance the business support infrastructure for micro-entrepreneurs in Eastern Maine. He is co-chair of the research committee of the Maine Entrepreneurship Working Group. He has made presentations at many regional and national conferences and has published his work in a variety of outlets including the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of the Community Development Society and the Journal of Travel Research.
Dr. McConnon is currently a member of the United States Department of Agriculture's National Home-Based and Micro Business Design Team. He was selected as the 2001 Home-Based Business Advocate of the Year for Maine and the New England Region by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2007, he received the Outstanding Public Service Award from the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture at the University of Maine.
The colloquium is sponsored by the L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Endowed Chair in Accounting.
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USM Professor Jeffrey Gramlich was appointed the first L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Chair in Accounting in the USM School of Business in 2003. His appointment was made possible by a $1 million gift from L.L. Bean, Inc., its board chair, Leon Gorman, his wife Lisa, Jim and Maureen Gorman, and Tom Gorman, who established the chair in memory of L.L. Bean CFO Lee Surace '73, '81, who died in March of 2001. Surace was chair of the USM School of Business' Advisory Council and was a frequent guest lecturer.
The USM School of Business is accredited by the prestigious AACSB International. For students seeking the finest education and companies seeking the highest caliber talent, partnership, and educational opportunities, AACSB International accreditation is one of the most important affirmations of sustained quality in the word. For more information about School of Business programs, call 780-4020.
