Jonesboro, AR – (Contributed) – Aug. 18, 2025 – Arkansas State University Chancellor Todd Shields and Neil Griffin College of Business Executive in Residence Heather Nelson are launching a new leadership and entrepreneurship course this semester, bringing top business leaders and changemakers from across Arkansas to campus for conversations on launching, leading and scaling successful ventures.

Tentative speakers include:

• Johnny Allison, chairman of Home Bancshares (Conway)
• Dan Brown, SVP Advanced Technology Steelmaking / COO Big River Steel (Osceola)
• Kristi Casey, CEO of Rock Dental Brands (Little Rock)
• Price Gardner, A-State System Board of Trustees and managing partner of Friday, Eldredge & Clark LLP (Little Rock)
• Eric Howerton, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of AdFury.ai and founder of PodcastVideos.com (Rogers)
• Amanda Herget, co-owner of Gearhead Outfitters (Jonesboro)
• David Peacock, President of Hytrol (Jonesboro)

Anchored in “The Start-Up J Curve” by Howard Love, the series is part of a graduate-level course (also open to underclassmen) taught by Shields and Nelson that explores the real-world challenges of building meaningful enterprises.

A-State alumni are driving leadership and innovation across industries – from banking and law to retail, technology and manufacturing – and in every region of Arkansas. That influence is part of the university’s $2.5 billion annual economic impact on the state, which includes $2 billion from alumni living and working in Arkansas.

“We want our students to learn directly from the people who have built and led successful ventures,” Shields said. “Hearing candid stories about the challenges, pivots and decisions that shaped those paths can be invaluable — whether a student is preparing to start their own business, lead within an existing organization, or drive change in the public sector.”

Each week, invited guests will join students for panel discussions on Tuesday evenings, sharing lessons from their own careers. The course also includes one-on-one, on-camera interviews with speakers, which will be shared publicly and archived as a resource for the campus and community.

“These conversations connect the classroom to the real world,” Nelson said. “They expose students to diverse industries and leadership styles, and they offer a chance for students to start building their own connections with mentors and peers.”

Speakers will continue to be announced throughout the semester. For more information, contact the Neil Griffin College of Business at GriffinBusiness@AState.edu or (870) 972-3035.