Foundations of Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities
| Course Prefix and Number | PSN 300 |
| Interest Areas | Small Business & Entrepreneurship |
This course provides the critical foundations for entrepreneurship for people with disabilities who are considering the development of their own businesses or organizations. At the completion of the Entrepreneurship course, participants will have been introduced to the options available for the pursuit of funding as well as a mentor network to assist them in the development of their ideas into a sustainable business venture. At specified intervals, participants will complete an evaluated assessment of their status as entrepreneurs who have disabilities in order to:
During each of these assessments, a given participant may agree with the instructor to not move further in this course, but that decision automatically places them as a potential participant to begin an alternate course entitled,"Foundations for Employment for People with Disabilities". This program has been funded by a grant from New York State, and is being managed in collaboration with Dr. Stephen Kuusisto of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. | |
Foundations of Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities - U001 - 54570
| Class Section | 54570 | Section Number | U001 | ||||||||||||
| Format | Online, synchronous + asynchronous | Location | Blackboard | ||||||||||||
| Section Start | 03/18/2025 | Section End | 06/17/2025 | ||||||||||||
| Time | 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm EST | Days | Tuesday | ||||||||||||
| Registration Open | 01/19/2025 | Registration Close | 03/11/2025 | ||||||||||||
| Drop Deadline | 03/18/2025 | Grading | Grade - PASS/FAIL (P/F) | ||||||||||||
| Fee | $.00 | ||||||||||||||
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This course provides the critical foundations for entrepreneurship for people with disabilities who are considering the development of their own businesses or organizations. At the completion of the Entrepreneurship course, participants will have been introduced to the options available for the pursuit of funding as well as a mentor network to assist them in the development of their ideas into a sustainable business venture. At specified intervals, participants will complete an evaluated assessment of their status as entrepreneurs who have disabilities in order to:
During each of these assessments, a given participant may agree with the instructor to not move further in this course, but that decision automatically places them as a potential participant to begin an alternate course entitled, "Foundations for Employment for People with Disabilities”.
The Foundations of Entrepreneurship program is being taught by John Liddy, an expert in Entrepreneurship with a long history of instruction on this topic. The program is funded by a grant from New York State through the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University, and the overall project is being sponsored by Dr. Stephen Kuusisto, Director, Office of Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach at BBI. In addition, the project has been designed in collaboration with OurAbility, Inc. in Albany, NY, an international organization that links people with disabilities to job opportunities. Leading that portion of the project is John Robinson, CEO of OurAbility. Both Dr. Kuusisto and Mr. Robinson are international thought leaders in the field of empowering people with disabilities.
CREDENTIAL At the successful conclusion of this microcredential program, participants will receive a digital badge from Syracuse University, College of Professional Studies, which can be shared on LinkedIn or any digital media, and which will provide complete detail on information learned and competencies gained throughout the program. Participants can also request a paper and/or a digital certificate.
SPONSORING DEPARTMENT CONTACT INFORMATION If you have any questions regarding this course, please contact the College of Professional Studies Office of Microcredentials at microcredential@syr.edu or 315.443.2588 | |||||||||||||||
Stephen Kuusisto directs BBI’s Interdisciplinary Programs and Outreach initiative. A University Professor at Syracuse, he is the author of the memoirs Planet of the Blind (a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year”) and Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening and of the poetry collections Only Bread, Only Light, and Letters to Borges. His newest memoir, Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s Journey is new from Simon & Schuster. A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a Fulbright Scholar, he has taught at the University of Iowa, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, and The Ohio State University. Professor Kuusisto has served as an advisor to the Metropolitan Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington DC and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show; Dateline; All Things Considered; Morning Edition; Talk of the Nation; A & E; and Animal Planet. His essays have appeared in The New York Times; The Washington Post; Harper’s; The Reader’s Digest; and his daily blog “Planet of the Blind” is read globally by people interested in disability and contemporary culture.
John Liddy is the interim Vice President for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of CenterState CEO in Syracuse, New York. He is also an Entrepreneur in Residence for the Syracuse Technology Garden, and the Director of the Griffiss Institute Business Incubator. John works directly with companies (new ventures and established firms) as well as consults with organizations (colleges, economic development and government) seeking to assist these populations. For more than 20 years, John has had roles with significant financial responsibility ($300M), as well as roles in which he was instrumental in the creation and growth of new firms. He has participated in multiple startups as well as holding corporate executive positions. John has led numerous workshops for entrepreneurs, including several for veterans with disabilities through the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. He has a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of Vermont, and a master of business administration from the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. John is also an adjunct professor at both Syracuse University and Utica University in the area of entrepreneurship.
John Robinson is dedicated to connecting individuals with disabilities towards employment through emerging technologies. He is the CEO of Our Ability, a disability-owned and operated organization that is committed to building such employment opportunities through job platforms and engagement that use leading-edge interactive technologies. John works through the Office of Microcredentials through a gift from the Einhorn Family Fund for Disability Entrepreneurship. In this role, he is a member of the instructional team for the non-credit Workshop in Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities, and he engages in special projects with the goal to help Syracuse University to become a global leader in the research and application of advanced technologies that can dismantle the professional boundaries and barriers experienced by people with disabilities. John has a BS in Project Management from Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and a Master’s in Disability Studies from CUNY School of Professional Studies. John Robinson is the subject of “Get Off Your Knees: The John Robinson Story” a public television documentary seen around the world, and Syracuse University Press published his autobiography of the same title in 2009.In 2018, John was presented with the Chamber Champion Award in recognition of actions that have advanced the mission of the Capital Region (NY) Chamber. In 2013, he was named by President Obama as one of ten White House Champions of Change for Disability Employment.