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Mike Cottrell is a Dahlonega resident and leading entrepreneur in the north Georgia region. Cottrell designed truck transports for his father’s company, Cottrell, Inc., before purchasing the company in 1987.
In less than a decade, Cottrell bought out his major competitor and in 1999, he initiated international sales. By 2006, Cottrell, Inc. was manufacturing more car haulers than all other major international manufacturers combined. Cottrell, Inc., with approximately 500 employees, is the number one manufacturer and marketer of over-the-road car haulers in the world.
In 2006, Mike Cottrell made a substantial gift to name the school of business at the University of North Georgia. In making the gift, he envisioned the school would one day become a college of business and one of the best in Georgia. The school did become a college and is now the Mike Cottrell College of Business (MCCB). As the quality of the programs have grown, so has the enrollment with over 4,500 students enrolled in business and computer science programs in the fall of 2020.This gift provides student scholarships, student funding for external opportunities such as international study tours and internships, and faculty funding for research and professional activities.
The gift also established the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (formerly Center for the Future of North Georgia), which focuses on regional economic development activities, entrepreneurial opportunities, student opportunities to interact with business executives, and internships. This organization collaborates with regional economic development agencies to serve existing and prospective industries throughout north Georgia.
Recently, Mike and Lynn Cottrell made another significant gift to UNG to provide a new home on the Dahlonega campus for the Mike Cottrell College of Business. The Cottrell Center for Business, Technology & Innovation will serve as the hub for the college, and offer a state-of-the-art place for the centers and programs housed in the college to continue to grow their reputations. This facility will be equal to the best facilities for business programs in the country and will doubtless assist in continuing to attract top students interested in studying business and computer science to UNG.
“University of North Georgia graduates are able to compete in regional and global communities to obtain high-level employment and become the business leaders of the future,” Cottrell said. “Whether pursuing an undergraduate degree or participating in the MBA program, students learn in an atmosphere of personalized attention and relevant training for today’s global society.”
Cottrell is a trustee emeritus of the university’s Foundation and served as co-chairman of Living Our Values: The Campaign for North Georgia. He is former vice-chair of the Advisory Council for the University’s Mike Cottrell College of Business and has received numerous honors for his philanthropy, including an honorary doctorate.