Berry Center for Free Enterprise
Explore the principles of free enterprise through a biblical lens with Cedarville's Berry Center for Free Enterprise. Grounded in Scriptural truths about stewardship and hard work, free enterprise fosters innovation, prosperity, and the flourishing of God's image-bearers.
Whether you're a student, business leader, faculty member, or foundation member, the Center provides avenues to deepen your knowledge and contribute to the discussion on free enterprise and entrepreneurship. Engage with these vital topics firsthand through our speaker series, events, and partnerships. Whether you're looking to contribute, collaborate, or learn, the Berry Center offers resources and opportunities for you to make a meaningful impact for Christ in the business world.
Engaging Events and Celebrated Speakers
Events
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The Pitch
Students present their business startup ideas to a panel of potential investors in this Shark Tank-style competition. The Pitch draws together student entrepreneurs from all majors to showcase their innovative ideas.Explore the Pitch -
Impact Conference
Business excellence meets Gospel purpose at Impact, a conference designed for business leaders, pastors, and students. Sharpen your business skills, deepen your missional mindset, and advance your Kingdom impact!Explore Impact will open in a new window -
CUE Camp
Entrepreneurship camp combines creativity with summer fun and adventure! As a high school camper, you'll get an inside look at what it takes to build a successful business and see if entrepreneurship is something you'd like to pursue in college and beyond.Explore CUE Camp
Speakers
Feed your passion to glorify God through business success with these speaker events. The Center sponsors a host of events, allowing you to hear from experts on topics from economics and entrepreneurship to marketing. Through the Distinguished Speaker Series, you’ll get to learn from and interact with prominent senior executives who have achieved success while exemplifying Christ through their work. Watch or attend an event and be challenged to think deeply about business issues and inspired to live for Christ in a competitive marketplace.
Distinguished Speaker Peter Schweizer spoke on the topic "Pulling Back the Curtain: How Our Enemies Buy Influence to Create Chaos in America." Schweizer is a New York Times bestselling author, Young America's Foundation alumnus, and president of the Government Accountability Institute.
Dr. Jeff Haymond, Dean of Cedarville's Plaster School of Business and Professor of Economics, introduces and defines socialism in the first lecture of his socialism course. The course — "Freedom to Flourish: Socialist Dreams. Market Realities." — addresses the failures and fallacies of socialism.
Concluding the "Freedom to Flourish" socialism course, Cedarville hosted Professor James Otteson, who spoke on "The End of Socialism." Professor Otteson is the John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Notre Dame.
Student Involvement
Get involved with these student organizations focused on free enterprise and entrepreneurship! Build valuable Christian professional connections, form lasting friendships, and lay a foundation for deeper knowledge. You’ll be set up for success in your career and ministry.
Economics Club
- Contact: felipemayta@cedarville.edu
- Open to: All students
Cedarville University Entrepreneurship
Imagine fun, adventure, and creativity all wrapped up in one. Welcome to Cedarville University Entrepreneurship, or CUE for short. This organization is full of passionate students and engaged faculty who work together to provide a one-of-a-kind experience that empowers students to run their businesses or learn how to lead in big organizations or corporations.
You'll discover how to generate ideas, create a value proposition statement (VPS), develop a minimum viable product (MVP), build strong networking connections, and map out a business plan. Get ready for fun events and guest speakers who are real entrepreneurs. Whether you aspire to be an entrepreneur or intrapreneur in fields ranging from business, communication, and music to engineering, nursing, and STEM, CUE will help you sharpen your skills to build, grow, or lead a successful business. Everyone is welcome. In CUE, you'll gain clarity on whether the entrepreneur life is for you while improving your skills as an intrapreneur. Entrepreneurship is not confined to a single business program; it is a real-life mindset for all Christian professionals seeking to use their gifts for Kingdom impact.
- Contact: cuentrepreneurship@cedarville.edu, wwoods@cedarville.edu
- Open to: All students
Academic Programs
Discover a selection of rigorous, free enterprise-focused programs offered by Cedarville’s Robert W. Plaster School of Business. Explore these programs that inspire deep thinking about economic principles and foster innovation in entrepreneurship, all within the context of biblical truth.
View all business programs:
Berry Center for Free Enterprise Faculty
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Jeff Haymond, PhD – Director
Contact Dr. HaymondDr. Jeff Haymond is the inaugural Director of the Berry Center for Free Enterprise. He joined the Cedarville University faculty in 2010 after a 29-year career in the United States Air Force. While in the Air Force, Colonel Haymond had assignments in engineering, satellite control, and launch operations. He also taught at the United States Air Force Academy and was an Air Force Fellow at The Brookings Institution. His research has been published in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, Public Choice, the Journal of Public Choice and Public Finance, and Strategic Studies Quarterly. His current research interests include economics and religion, as well as monetary theory.
Dr. Haymond has a passion for thinking biblically and economically. He considers the integration of a Christian worldview into the broader society the most positive social policy possible. This passion brought him to Cedarville University, where he hopes to help the next generation of Christian leaders develop the ability to think critically with a distinctly Christian worldview.
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Kary Oberbrunner, DMin
Contact Dr. OberbrunnerDr. Kary Oberbrunner is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen books. As CEO of Igniting Souls and Blockchain Life, he helps authors, entrepreneurs, and influencers publish, protect, and promote their intellectual property and turn it into 18 streams of income. With a doctorate in transformational leadership, a master's in counseling, and a bachelor's in biblical studies, Kary is an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, and inventor. He’s been featured in Entrepreneur, CBS, Fox News, Yahoo, and many other major media outlets.
Partnerships
We’re thankful for our partners who work in conjunction with the Center to sponsor thought-provoking speaker events, offer unique student opportunities, and otherwise support our mission to advance free enterprise.
Resources
Curious to learn more about the economic discussion, the argument for free enterprise, and the implementation of entrepreneurship? Access these resources to further your knowledge surrounding these vital topics:
Video Resources
Gain foundational economic insights from Dr. Oberbrunner's interview with Dr. Haymond, Dean of Cedarville's Plaster School of Business. This interview for Christian Business Fellowship is brought to you by the Impact 2024 conference.
The Berry Story
See how the Berry family built a company with enduring success from the ground up, then used their platform to give back to the community, furthering meaningful education and free enterprise efforts. We are grateful for the impact the Foundation has had at Cedarville, giving generously to establish the Berry Center for Free Enterprise as well as to aid in the construction of the first-class Scharnberg Business and Communication Center.
