TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Randy Blass, an assistant in organizational behavior and a retired Air Force officer, received the Community Engagement Educator Award from the Florida Campus Compact at its annual gala in Orlando. Blass was recognized for his accomplishment in bringing the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Program (EBV) to the College of Business at Florida State University.

The award recognizes and honors one outstanding individual in each of the three higher education sectors in Florida (state universities, community colleges, independent colleges and universities) for significant contributions to the institutionalization of community engagement, by inspiring a vision for service on the campus and supporting faculty, students, and/or campus-community partnerships.

The EBV program, operated through the College's Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship, brings together world-class faculty, entrepreneurs, disability experts and business professionals to train veterans in small business ownership. The training includes online study, a nine-day residency at FSU and 12 months of ongoing support and mentorship from faculty experts. Students engage in experimental workshops to write business plans, raise capital, attract customers, and develop a marketing strategy that is most effective for their business model.

Blass is responsible for bringing the EBV Program to Florida State's campus. He ran the program successfully this past summer utilizing mostly volunteers from the classroom, across campus and throughout the community.

"We are proud of the tireless effort and work Dr. Blass has put in to bringing the EBV program to our campus and involving his students and the community in this program," says Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, dean of FSU's College of Business. "This award is an important recognition for his fore-site in involving our school in this important social entrepreneurship venture which affords veterans the opportunity to 'own their futures' while also offering the flexibility to accommodate the unique challenges associated with a service-connected disability."

The EBV was first introduced by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University in 2007. In 2008, the EBV Consortium of Schools was launched, a national partnership with Florida State University's College of Business, UCLA Anderson School of Management, and Mays Business School at Texas A&M. Each of these world-class business schools offered EBV on their campuses in the Summer of 2008. The Krannert School of Management at Purdue University also joined the EBV consortium, and all five schools will offer the EBV on their campuses in the Summer of 2009.

About the FSU College of Business: Founded in 1950, the FSU College of Business is one of the nation's youngest business schools, yet it has become one of the 10 largest in the United States. It is the second largest academic unit on FSU's campus with an enrollment of more than 6,000 students and boasts a distinguished full-time faculty of 114, including one Francis Eppes professor, eight eminent scholar chairs, three university-named professorships and 30 endowed professorships. For more information, please visit www.cob.fsu.edu.

For more information about the College of Business, please go to www.cob.fsu.edu.