Cook Completes Ball State Economic Development Course

La Porte, Indiana (January 16, 2007) – Bert Cook, Project Manager for the Greater La Porte Economic Development Corporation, recently completed the Ball State University Economic Development Course, coordinated and delivered by the Center for Economic and Community Development on January 12th, 2007. He attended the course with support from a scholarship provided by NIPSCO.

The Ball State University- Indiana Economic Development Course is accredited by the International Economic Development Council, and is also known as the “Academy." The course offers intensive training in the basic concepts, methods, and strategies of economic, industrial, business, and community development. It is a comprehensive educational experience in the theory and practice of economic development. 

Successful completion of the course automatically qualifies participants for admission to the Economic Development Institute, a program offered by the University of Oklahoma.  Cook earned four hours of Continuing Education credit and three credit hours of graduate credit from Ball State University.

The Curriculum includes 40 hours of intensive work in Economic Development including business retention and expansion, strategic planning, marketing and business attraction, economic development finance , small business and entrepreneurship development, community/neighborhood development, real estate development and reuse,  workforce development, building development organizations, development and the environment, understanding the global economy, international trade, community development theory, data gathering and analysis and existing industry development  For more information on the Ball State Center for Economic and Community Development please visit their web site at http://www.bsu.edu/bbc/economic.

For more information about the Greater La Porte Economic Development Corporation please call (219) 324-8584.