Clark Atlanta University’s School of Business Administration hosts business and technology industry leaders

25-04-2023

Atlanta, GA (April 18, 2023) – Clark Atlanta University’s (CAU) School of Business Hosted John Hope Bryant for the first Entrepreneur Scholar-in-Residence, a fireside chat in partnership with PNC Bank. The event marked the launch of the National Center for Entrepreneurship by PNC. Bryant’s new position is intended to help CAU serve as an incubator for the development of the next generation of leaders at Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Bryant is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist and the founder of Operation HOPE, the nation’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to financial literacy.

During his residency at CAU, Bryant will lead an ongoing series of speakers on topics such as managing financial risk, negotiating deals and the importance of FICO scores. He is also a member of the board of directors of the CAU.

Bryant’s remarks include a historical overview of The Freedman’s Bank and several HOPE programs, including Financial Literacy for All (FL4A) and One Million Black Businesses (1MBB). He argues that black entrepreneurs are key to transforming communities through ownership and improved financial well-being. The event was a celebration of the shared commitment to advancing black entrepreneurship and brought together nearly 100 students, alumni, business experts and community leaders. PNC has been a strategic partner of HOPE for almost ten years.

“When you’re in history, it doesn’t feel like it. This is one of those moments. Today, the right partners are at the table,” said Bryant. Reconstruction,” and I look forward to engaging the extraordinary students of both PNC and CAU in a conversation about how they can change the world through entrepreneurship. By better understanding capitalism and learning the language of money, they will be equipped to shape America’s future. ”

“For three decades, John Hope Bryant has been on the frontline with a ‘Silver Rights’ message. He is an experienced and successful businessman who has demonstrated a strong commitment to helping others build generational wealth,” said Dr. Sylvanus Udoka, Interim Provost and SVP for Academic Affairs, CAU. “We are confident that Mr. Bryant’s leadership, in partnership with PNC, will resonate with CAU students and unleash the power of entrepreneurship.”

Minority businesses account for more than 50% of the 2 million new businesses started in the United States over the past decade, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Despite that growth, minority ownership represents only 18 percent of total U.S. businesses, and the companies face huge disparities when it comes to access to capital, contract opportunities, and other entrepreneurial development.

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About Clark Atlanta University

Clark Atlanta University was formed with the consolidation of Atlanta University and Clark College, both of which hold unique places in the annals of African American history. Founded in 1865 by the American Missionary Association, Atlanta University was the nation’s first institution to award graduate degrees to African Americans. Founded four years later in 1869, Clark College was the nation’s first four-year liberal arts college to serve a primarily African-American student population. Today, with nearly 4,000 students, CAU is the largest of the four institutions (CAU, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Morehouse School of Medicine) that make up the Atlanta University Center Consortium. It is also the largest of the 37 affiliated UNCF institutions. Notable alumni include: James Weldon Johnson; American civil rights activist, poet and songwriter (Lift Every Voice and Sing “The Black National Anthem”; Ralph David Abernathy Sr., American civil rights activist; Congressman Hank

Johnson, Georgia District 4; Kenya Barris, American award-winning television and film producer; Kenny Leon, Tony Award-winning Broadway director; Jacque Reid, Emmy Award-winning television personality and journalist; Brandon Thompson, Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for NASCAR; Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the Recording Academy. For more information about Clark Atlanta University, visit www.cau.edu.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.

Since 1992, Operation HOPE has moved America from civil rights to “silver rights” with a mission to make free enterprise and capitalism work for the underprivileged – breaking poverty for millions of low- and middle-income youth and adults across the country. With the HOPE Inside community uplift model, named Innovator of the Year by American Banker magazine in 2016, Operation HOPE has helped more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity to disenfranchised communities, turning check-cashing customers into bank customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and insecure disaster victims into financially stronger disaster survivors. Operation HOPE recently received its eighth consecutive four-star charity rating for tax management and commitment to transparency and accountability from prestigious nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator. For more information: Operation HOPE.org. Join the conversation on social media @operationhope.