News Detail

Tepper School Hosts 2008 Cornerstones Symposium

Release Date: Mar 18, 2008

Event Showcases Pittsburgh’s Entrepreneurial Transformation To World-Class Knowledge-Based Economy

PITTSBURGH— The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and its Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship will host the 2008 Cornerstones Symposium, titled “Entrepreneurial Pittsburgh: Building Bridges to a City’s New Future.”  The symposium, co-sponsored by the Tepper School’s Carnegie Bosch Institute for Applied Studies in International Management, will take place Tuesday, March 25 on the Carnegie Mellon campus.

There will be a pre-symposium panel and press conference Monday, March 24 at the Duquesne Club.  State Secretary of Community and Economic Development Dennis Yablonsky and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl have been invited to speak at the 4:30 p.m. press conference.

For more information or to register for “Entrepreneurial Pittsburgh: Building Bridges to a City’s New Future,” contact Bob Johnston at 412-268-9554 or rj@andrew.cmu.edu.  The Cornerstones Symposium agenda is at http:/tepper.cmu.edu/download.aspx?id=2052. For more information on the Tepper School of Business, visit http://www.tepper.cmu.edu.

Cornerstones, founded by Carnegie Mellon Emeritus Lifetime Trustee Lucian Caste, is an outreach program of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship that highlights the unique power of collaboration and interdisciplinary culture that Carnegie Mellon brings to both academia and professional practice.  Broadening the theme of collaboration, Cornerstones also underscores the many areas of cooperation between Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC for research and to help spur entrepreneurial vitality in the Pittsburgh region.

The symposium includes the broad mix of disciplines — including architects, developers and economists; researchers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists; and city planners and government policy makers — all of whom must work together to strengthen the future of cities and their economies, their social networks and their physical infrastructure.  Using Pittsburgh — recently recognized as the leading U.S. city for growth in venture-funded businesses — as an example, the symposium connects leading authorities from around the world to share their knowledge and experiences on issues that can help cities realize a sustainable transformation of their economies and their people.

“With experts and decision-makers from around the world presenting their ideas and work at the Cornerstones Symposium, this is an excellent opportunity to learn how other cities are transforming their economies, their physical structures and their populations, using principles of sustainable development, knowledge-based innovation and smart urban planning,” said Art Boni, director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship and the John R. Thorne Chair of Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business.

This year’s seventh annual symposium focuses on how efficient and affordable energy, integrated health systems, robotics and electronic arts technologies are transforming Pittsburgh into a world-class city.

Following the Monday afternoon press conference, Cornerstones will host a V.I.P. reception, also at the Duquesne Club, to connect the business, healthcare, policy and academic fields to leverage action for profitable growth in the new global economy.

The one-day symposium Tuesday, March 25, will present such eminent speakers as University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg; Mayor Ravenstahl; Juan Catala, deputy mayor, Zaragoza, Spain; Ric Perez, senior vice president, Nuclear Services, Westinghouse Electric Company; Arthur S. Levine, M.D., senior vice chancellor for the Health Sciences and dean, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh; and Minoru Asada, professor, Osaka University, Japan.  Other top leaders and decision makers will speak and join panel discussions to illuminate how urban centers are leading the agenda for global change.

The symposium will take place in Rangos Hall in the University Center on Carnegie Mellon’s campus. Tickets are $175 for a single ticket, $600 for four tickets (includes 1 V.I.P. ticket) or $1,100 for 8 tickets (includes 2 V.I.P. tickets), $150 for non-profit employees, $75 for government employees and $50 for faculty.  Students are admitted at no charge. Tickets for the V.I.P. reception, sponsored by the Allegheny Conference for Community Development, are $75.