CALL FOR PAPERS

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2007

Compton Science Center, Frostburg State University,

Frostburg, Maryland

Dates of Conference: September 7th and 8th, 2007

You are invited to participate in the second Trident Initiative Annual Conference on Entrepreneurship to be held Sepember 7th and 8th, 2007, in the idyllic and scenic setting of Frostburg, Maryland. The aim of this conference is to promote dissemination and cross-fertilization of knowledge and ideas in the area of entrepreneurship in our region. We invite faculty and practitioners of small business to submit research papers, case studies, proposals for panel discussions, and poster sessions for the conference. Please email your completed paper or proposal to us at trident@frostburg.edu. Please remove the names of all authors and references to institutional affiliation from the paper but include them in the email message. Papers should be submitted in RTF or MSWord format. All submitted papers will be double blind reviewed. Authors must avoid revealing their identity or affiliation within the body of the paper and/or the references.

We will notify you of the outcome of our review within 4 weeks of receipt. Upon acceptance of your manuscript, you will receive a letter of confirmation, registration form, and paper style guideline for publication in proceedings by regular mail. If you wish to simply attend the Conference, you are welcome to do so after registration and payment of a $50.00 registration fee. All accepted papers will be published in the Annual Conference Proceedings. The five (5) best submissions presented at the Conference will receive up to $1,000.00 each to defray the cost of attending a future conference organized by USASBE (United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, www.usasbe.org) and SEA (Self Employment in the Arts, www.seasource.org). In addition to paper submission, we invite experts to volunteer as paper reviewers, session facilitators, and panel discussion participants. There is no conference registration fee for authors of accepted papers, reviewers, session facilitators, and panel discussion participants.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: April 1, 2007

POSSIBLE TOPICS TO CONSIDER FOR SUBMISSION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. Survey of financing vehicles used to start up new businesses regionally

2. Availability and potential for expansion of micro-lending in the region

3. Case studies on partnerships with organizations such as Rural Outsourcing, Inc and financing through the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO)

4. Success stories of the region’s entrepreneurs

5. Desires and opportunities for regional artists to seek self-employment

6. Opportunities for environmental and social entrepreneurship

7. Notable alumni-student partnerships in the region

8. The region’s inventors and innovators with notable commercialized ideas

9. Regional entrepreneurs with significant international commerce

10. Knowledge clusters that can advance the region

11. Innovative teaching methods in entrepreneurship

12. University incubators for technology-based initiatives

13. The use of incubators for artists and artisans and lessons learned

14. Notable economic development initiatives by the region’s universities

15. Activities of the entrepreneurship centers in the region

16. Importance of rural entrepreneurship

17. Regional assets

18. Youth entrepreneurship awareness

19. Characteristics of region’s entrepreneurs

20. Well-known serial entrepreneurs of the region

21. Business forums and lessons we can learn from them

22. Artists and craftspeople as the forces of economic development

23. What entrepreneurs can learn from artists and what artists can learn from entrepreneurs

24. History of notable entrepreneurs in the region

For any questions concerning this call for papers, please contact:

Keramat Poorsoltan, Ph.D. or Sudhir Singh, Ph.D.

Attractions in Frostburg and Surrounding Areas

During your visit to Frostburg, you can enjoy a variety of attractions within the city and the vicinity. Some of them are …….

The Old Depot, located on Depot Street in Frostburg, Maryland. Built by the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1891 as a passenger and freight station. Two passenger trains ran daily from Cumberland to Piedmont via Frostburg until 1942, when passenger service was discontinued. Abandoned in 1973, the building was renovated and reopened in 1989 with a striking restaurant and shops to accommodate the public and passengers arriving on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad steam passenger train.

Rocky Gap State Park just off of Interstate 68 in Flintstone, Maryland. Rocky Gap encompasses over 3,000 acres of public land with rugged mountains surrounding the park which features 243-acre Lake Habeeb. It also offers 278 individual campsites, including 30 equipped with electric hook-ups, dump station, bathhouses, a family group site, three youth group camping areas, one boat ramp, boat rentals, laundry and a camp store. There is also a nature center, game room, swimming beach, and pay phones. Pets are allowed in two designated camp loops.

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, located on Harrison Street and South Mechanic Street in downtown Cumberland, Maryland. Our restored early 20th century train steams on a round trip through the mountains between Cumberland and Frostburg. Enjoy three centuries of transportation history, scenic excursions, first class dining cars, murder mystery/dinner trains and Santa’s Express holiday specials.

Cumberland Theatre located on 101-103 North Johnson Street, Cumberland Maryland. The Cumberland Theatre is Western Maryland’s only regional professional theatre presenting musicals, comedies and dramas June through December. A non-profit organization operating under a contract with Actor’s Equity Association, the theatre is entering its 18th year of presenting live theatre in Allegany County.

C & O Canal National Historical Park located on 13 Canal Street, Cumberland, Maryland. Newly-opened National Park Service Visitor Center features an orientation area with park maps, brochures, and general C & O Canal information along with a Parks and History Association book sales area. Visitors enter the main exhibit area through a re-created Paw Paw Tunnel. Once inside the main exhibit hall, visitors have the opportunity to view and interact with exhibits related to boat building at the Cumberland boatyards, the Allegany County coal industry that shipped on the canal and the significance of Cumberland, Maryland as a transportation center.