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WEST HARTFORD — The University of Hartford will close its Entrepreneurial and Women’s Business Center at the end of September, a program that the university has featured for 38 years.
The closure, which takes place Sept. 29, was confirmed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Connecticut District Office, which has been funding the program through grants since 1999, and the university.
“While it will no longer be hosted by UHart after that date, the SBA has expressed to intend for a WBC-funded entity to continue the work in Hartford, so we expect resources and support will continue,” univeristy spokeswoman Susan Wollschlager said Thursday.
According to the university’s website the program, which began in 1985, “empowers Connecticut-based women and people of color to take control of their economic future by connecting them with training, one-to-one coaching, networking events, and resources to advance their entrepreneurial success.”
It goes on to say that the university’s “stellar team can help take the guesswork out of how to start and grow your small business. We’ll give you access to the latest technology tools to simplify operations and teach you skills and tactics to increase economic prosperity. Our coaching and training programs will expand your strategic thinking and help you increase engagement within your community.”
Wollschlager said that university, the business center and the SBA’s Connecticut office are working together to limit disruption to clients and current projects and that university believes that goal is attainable. But Catherine Marx, the District Director in the SBA’s Connecticut office, said Tuesday that she expected it to take “many months” to award a grant to another host.
Marx also said that the university initiated ending the grant and the groups’ longstanding relationship.
According to Wollschlager, the university has engaged in conversations with the SBA over many years about the right organization to be the “host of this important and evolving work.”
“Everyone involved believes there is much to be gained by securing a host that specializes in the core mission and resources of small business and entrepreneurship,” she said.
Wollschlager did not say whether the closure would result in staff reductions, but added that the university will provide more information in the coming weeks.
It’s not the first time in recent years the university has made moves to cut costs.
In 2021, the unversity made headlines for announcing that it was ending its participation in Division I college sports and moving to Division III, in large part to save money and because, according to the school, it better aligned with its “mission and goals of creating exceptional academic, co-curricular, and wellness experiences for all students.”
The school began competing in the Division III Commonwealth Coast Conference this academic year.
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