Bob Bernier has served as state director of the Nebraska Business Development Center since 1979. A department of the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Business Administration, the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) provides management and technical assistance services to businesses in Nebraska
NBDC programs include the small business development center program, funded by the US Small Business Administration; the procurement technical assistance program, funded by the US Department of Defense; the manufacturing extension partnership program, funded by the US Department of Commerce; the pollution prevention resource information center, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency; and NBDC Business and Technology Solutions, a fee-based training and implementation program.
NBDC has offices in Omaha, Lincoln, Wayne, Kearney, North Platte and Scottsbluff. The NBDC Business and Technology Solutions operates from offices at 6949 S. 110th Street in Omaha. NBDC entrepreneurship services are located at its EntrepreneurShop® in Old Mill Centre at 10868 West Dodge Road in Omaha.
NBDC generates approximately $1.5 million per year in government grants to the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In 2003 NBDC services to small businesses in Nebraska resulted in more than $145 million in economic impact, including the creation of more than 7,000 jobs.
Dr. Bernier is the longest serving state director of a small business development center program in the country. He held several leadership positions in the Association of Small Business Development Centers, including president in 1990. He started the ASBDC national office in 1989 and oversaw its transfer to a Washington, DC location in 1996.
Dr. Bernier earned his Ph.D. in public administration and his MBA in finance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He earned the BA in journalism from Kent State University. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Ohio before joining the University of Nebraska at Omaha as assistant director of University Relations in 1974. His academic research focuses on the process of economic development, particularly small business development.