Stewart named SBDC director

MARK STEWART, previous director of the Small Business Center at Halifax Community College in Weldon, N.C., has been selected to take over the R.I. Small Business Development Center at the University of Rhode Island. Stewart told Providence Business News he assumed the position in June / COURTESY MARK STEWART
MARK STEWART, previous director of the Small Business Center at Halifax Community College in Weldon, N.C., has been selected to take over the R.I. Small Business Development Center at the University of Rhode Island. Stewart told Providence Business News he assumed the position in June / COURTESY MARK STEWART

(Updated, 12:58 p.m.)

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Mark Stewart has been appointed the new state director of the R.I. Small Business Development Center, Stewart told Providence Business News Monday.

Stewart was previously director of the Small Business Center at Halifax Community College in Weldon, N.C., a position he held for four years, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Stewart said he began his job in Rhode Island in June, taking over the position from James K. Petell, URI associate vice president for intellectual property and economic development, who had served as interim state director of the center.

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Stewart holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pa., a master’s degree in human resource development from Villanova University and an MBA from Eastern University.

The state SBDC has been restructured since the U.S. Small Business Administration awarded the University of Rhode Island the contract to host the center. URI’s contract began Jan. 1.

The SBDC was previously hosted by Johnson & Wales University for eight years. That contract ended in December 2013.

The previous director of the SBDC, Adriana Dawson, is currently director of employer outreach and engagement at Roger Williams University.

Spokesmen at URI and the Rhode Island division of the SBA were not immediately available for comment.

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