Dr. Robert Sloan, President of Houston Baptist University (HBU), and Dr. Stan Napper, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, are pleased to announce the appointment of Brenda Rios Brombacher as Director of the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise at HBU. Brombacher’s appointment began Jan. 10, 2022.
Napper said, “Brenda has academic, business, personal, and global experience in entrepreneurship. Her roles in universities, the US Department of State, and in start-up companies give her a unique experience that will benefit all students at HBU. Her skills in grant writing, fundraising, and building community partnerships will benefit the entire campus, as well as our Houston businesses and organizations. She will have a short transition period and an immediate impact in her role at HBU.”
Also affirming the appointment, Mike Rome, Dean of the Archie W. Dunham College of Business and the prior Interim Director of the McNair Center said, “It was imperative that we have someone take over the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise that possesses the skills and abilities that Brenda exhibits. We are blessed to get someone of the caliber of Brenda blended in with the youthfulness, resourcefulness, and drive to succeed.”
For the past five years, Brombacher was the Director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives and Community Relations at Houston Community College, where she demonstrated skill in grant writing, development, and building community partnerships. She also has teaching experience at UH-Downtown, worked five years for the US Department of State (promoting and executing entrepreneurship programs throughout Africa and the Middle East), and has 2.5 years of experience in a start-up company. In addition, Brombacher has a broad range of experience working directly with teams and organizations that developed and implemented on-site entrepreneurial programs and activities that directly impacted regions and communities. But her most foundational experience in entrepreneurship came as she worked in her parents’ family business here in Houston, which has left her with an enduring network of business relationships and a deep commitment to the possibilities of free enterprise in America today.
“The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation is excited to welcome Brenda to the directorship of the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise at Houston Baptist University,” said Kristi Cooper, Executive Director of the Robert and Janice McNair Foundation. “We anticipate that she will make immediate connections to the campus community and look forward to educating a new generation of entrepreneurial leaders who have both the skills and the understanding of how a free enterprise system forms the basis of economic opportunity and prosperity for individuals in our country. Ultimately, Houston and Texas will reap the benefits of this partnership with HBU.”
Brombacher has a B.A. in International Business from UH-Downtown, a master’s in Diplomacy from Norwich University, and is near completion of a DBA in Entrepreneurship from Walden University.
About the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise
Founded in 2016 through a generous gift from Janice and Robert McNair, the mission of the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise at Houston Baptist University is to educate capable people in the foundations of entrepreneurial leadership and free enterprise – including teaching and modeling the principles of individual responsibility, limited government, and principled entrepreneurship. In addition to a Master of Science in Management and Entrepreneurship (MSME), the Center facilitates programs that serve undergraduate students in all majors, providing solid business foundations, training in the unique skills needed by an entrepreneur, and the moral and ethical underpinnings necessary for successful and Christ-honoring entrepreneurship.