Rural entrepreneurship symposium comes to ISU July 8 – 11

AMES, Iowa – The Business Record’s Innovation Iowa publication interviewed Linda Niehm, professor in the department of apparel, events and hospitality management, as well as the entrepreneurial leader for the College of Health and Human Sciences and co-chair of the upcoming United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Rural Entrepreneurship Symposium. Judi Eyles, director of CyBiz Lab and ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, is also co-chairing the event.

The conference is focused on rural retail, manufacturing and innovation. Attendees will meet Midwest entrepreneurs, learn about over 30 different research topics, visit Iowa tourism sites and hear from leaders in the industry.

For visitors coming to Iowa and Iowa State, Niehm hopes they look deeply at what Iowa has to offer.

“I hope that they see us as not only an ag state where we have corn and soybeans, but we have so much more to offer,” she said. “And we have so much going on here at Iowa State, I want them to see our programming. If they want to emulate some of the things that we’re doing, wonderful.”