Small business center at ATU to serve parts of Fort Smith area

Arkansas Tech University will be home to a regional office of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) on its Russellville campus beginning January 2010.

The regional office will serve an eight-county region and will be located in Centenary Hall, a new 60,000-square foot academic building scheduled to open on the Arkansas Tech campus at the beginning of 2010.

The eight counties covered by the center are: Conway, Franklin, Johnson, Logan,
Pope, Scott, Sebastian and Yell.

The ASBTDC represents a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and other institutions of higher education in Arkansas. The center is dedicated to assisting new, existing and expanding businesses. Among the services offered at ASBTDC regional offices are consulting, training and market research. Most services are offered free of charge.

“ASBTDC is the only entity with a statewide network of offices focusing on entrepreneurial and small business development,” said Janet Roderick, ASBTDC state director. “We are excited about partnering with Arkansas Tech University to extend our network and better serve the area’s small businesses.”

There are approximately 1,000 such centers around the nation. The center at Arkansas Tech will be the seventh in the state of Arkansas, joining existing offices at UALR, Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Technology in McGehee.