ELSEWORKS is the entrepreneurship program of the Else School of Management at Millsaps College. Our goal is to create positive social change in Mississippi and grow the creative assets of our state to promote economic development. ELSEWORKS functions similarly to business consultancy firms but is staffed by selected graduate and undergraduate business students who work alongside faculty of the Else School of Management to assist various businesses in strategic planning and execution. While ELSEWORKS has supported various entrepreneurial endeavors in the state, the primary focus of ELSEWORKS has been “across the street” from campus in the Midtown neighborhood. Almost 8 years have passed since Millsaps College received its initial grant from the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation to build the creative economy in Midtown, and the ELSEWORKS program in partnership with Midtown Partners began work with business owners and partners in the neighborhood.
Our work provides experiential learning opportunities while giving students a way to actively engage with and influence our local community through strategic partnerships. Dr. David Culpepper, Millsaps professor of accounting and chair of ELSEWORKS says “We believe by placing our students in a position to have meaningful input into high level decisions that have very real and potentially success altering consequences. They learn to embrace diversity, risk, and important challenges – thus, how to be a leader. Meanwhile, the revitalization of the Midtown area improves the quality of life for those in Midtown and for our students.”