UALR Chancellor Joel E. Anderson and Janet Roderick, director of the Arkansas Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) at UALR received leadership awards Tuesday from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) district director.

Anderson and Roderick were recognized at the 18th annual Arkansas Small Business Awards luncheon sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas. Both awards were District Director’s Special Award – Entrepreneurial Leadership honors.
Linda R. Nelson said the SBA honored Anderson for his effective use of an entrepreneurial approach in leading UALR in growth and outreach to the community.

“As any successful entrepreneur knows, you have to meet your customers’ needs and expectations – sometimes when the customers themselves don’t even recognize those needs,” Nelson said at an awards luncheon.

She praised the chancellor for his leadership in pushing the development of the midtown area with UALR’s partnership in creating the University District and spearheading a comprehensive community development plan as a model for replication across the state.

The SBA also honored Roderick for practicing what her consultants and trainers preach to small businesses.

“She runs the SBDC as an entrepreneur,” Nelson said. “She has turned the Arkansas SBDC into a first-class operation with state-of-the-art products to aid and support small business, including a market research program, a web-optimization analysis, and access to the leading small business research library.”