Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business officially launched its Sorrell Corporate Partnership Program on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony in John Robert Lewis Hall on the Troy Campus.

The initiative is designed to strengthen relationships between the college and business throughout the region while providing students with greater access to business leaders and career opportunities.

“When I look at what we are doing here today, uniting the academy and the corporate partners in the community, it is really a great thing for the University and most importantly the students,” said Dr. Steve Grice, Interim Dean of the Sorrell College of Business. “I think it is very important that we unite the resources and intellectual capital that is in the academy with the resources and intellectual capital that is outside the academy with our corporate partners. When we have students or faculty connected with those corporate partners, we share all of those resources with each other, which just helps to make everything better.”

Grice said some programs within the college have an existing track ready of connecting with businesses and firms, such as the Carr School of Accountancy and the Risk Management and Insurance Program. 

“What the Sorrell Corporate Partners Program does is throw an umbrella over the entire Sorrell College of Business,” he said. “One of the biggest benefits of this program and one that I value the most is the relationships that will be built, connecting our students and our college with our partners. We began this academic year talking about relevance, retention and relationships and this program supports each one of those. When we can connect with corporate partners whether it is having partners come into the classroom or sending students out to learn from our partners, it helps to produce professionally prepared students. Those relationships are going to also lead to retention of our students. I greatly appreciate all of our corporate partners and thank them for what they have done.”

Pike County Chamber of Commerce President Bethany Grimes said the new program provides a great opportunity for students and the businesses of Pike County alike.

“Our goal is to connect these students with businesses and industries in Pike County so that those are top-of-mind for students when they are looking for internship opportunities,” Grimes said. “We want these students to have positive internship opportunities that will lead to employment opportunities, and hopefully, permanent residence here in Pike County. For the students, this corporate partnership program provides an excellent opportunity to gain real-world experience that will benefit them when they are ready to begin their careers. The Pike County Chamber of Commerce is so proud to be here today as a partner as this program is launched.”

Laura Dove, Associate Dean in the Sorrell College of Business, said the program provides partners with the opportunity to craft their experience to best meet their business or organizational goals.

“Everything that we are doing is an effort to make sure that you are able as a company or organization to craft an engagement experience with Sorrell College of Troy University that is the best fit for you and your goals, whether that is recruitment, branding, internships or jobs,” she said. We are committed to making sure that when you are a part of this partnership program, we are connecting you across this university with whoever you need to be talking to in order to meet your goals and priorities.”

Dove thanked Partnership Program Coordinator Stan Blankenship for his “tireless effort in getting this program off the ground.”

“Stan had such a vision, and I knew early on that all I needed to do was provide him with whatever support he needed and get out of his way,” Dove said.

Blankenship said the program will provide opportunities that will benefit students, corporate partners, the Sorrell College and the University as a whole.

“We want students to hear firsthand from business leaders about their experiences and share their advice to help prepare students for their future business endeavors,” Blankenship said. “We want our partners to feel like a part of our College of Business and to be comfortable engaging with our students and faculty.”

To learn more about the Corporate Partners Program and other collaboration opportunities within the Sorrell College of Business, visit sorrellcolab.com.