November 27, 2002

Entrepreneur Marcus da Silva to Kick Off Entrepreneur Speakers Series
at Whitworth College

Whitworth's School of Global Commerce and Management will kick off its Entrepreneur Speakers Series with a presentation by Marcus da Silva, vice president of engineering for Vivato, Inc., a developer of network infrastructure products for Wi-Fi networks. Vivato is headquartered in San Francisco, Calif.; its research-and-development team is based in Spokane. Da Silva's presentation will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 3:30 p.m. in the Hixson Union Building catering rooms at Whitworth. A discussion session will follow da Silva's presentation; both are free and open to the public. For more information, please call (509) 777-3242.

The Entrepreneur Speaker Series is part of the new Entrepreneurship and Small Business Studies Program at Whitworth. The program was established recently with a $137,628 grant from the Seattle-based Herbert Jones Foundation to support the Whitworth School of Global Commerce and Management as it becomes a regional leader of entrepreneurship education and to strengthen connections between the college and the Spokane business community.

The on-campus speaker series provides Whitworth students and faculty, and members of the regional business community, with opportunities to learn from and interact with entrepreneurs and small-business professionals from industries throughout the region.

In addition to the speaker series, the three-year grant will lay the groundwork for development of a program for entrepreneurship and small business studies by establishing a job shadowing/mentoring and internship program that will link students with Spokane-area entrepreneurs.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The college enrolls about 2,200 students in more than 50 undergraduate and graduate programs.

Contacts:

Elizabeth Peterson, assistant professor of economics and business, Whitworth College, (509) 777-4675 or epeterson@whitworth.edu.

Jo Ann Nielsen, coordinator/administrative services, School of Global Commerce and Management, Whitworth College, (509) 777-3242 or joannnielsen@whitworth.edu.

Julie Riddle, Public Information Specialist, Whitworth College, (509) 777-3729 or jriddle@whitworth.edu.