Dr. Sidney Barton: John Goering Impact Award Recipient

When he worked as an engineering firm’s marketing VP, Dr. Sid Barton’s diverse team was extremely close and successful. His boss was known for hiring horses – people who take something and run with it – and he asked Barton his secret.

“I said, ‘We have a lot of horses, but I am a jockey. I let these people run, but I’m here to help them.’” This perspective has helped drive Barton’s success over the years – both at the Goering Center and the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business.

Barton’s been in a variety of roles at the Goering Center since its inception in 1989, and he is the deserved recipient of the Center’s first ever John Goering Impact Award.

When Barton changed careers, earning his Ph.D. in Business and joining the Carl H. Lindner College of Business as an assistant professor, John Goering had just endowed the college with $400,000. That gift secured a matching grant from Lindner, leaving then Dean Leonard Arnoff to decide how to use the money.

“We did a study and found that there were tons of programs focused on entrepreneurship, but virtually none on family businesses,” says Barton. “Even though well over 80% of American businesses are family and private businesses, business schools didn’t pay attention to them. Here was an opportunity to make a unique contribution.”

The idea for the Goering Center was born, and Arnoff invited Barton to serve as its executive director.

Barton had a vision for the Center that the Dean and John Goering endorsed.

Reflecting the wish of Goering, it needed to be inclusive, so everyone could join.

“We came up with a program that was modest in price and invited everyone to come. There was a latent interest and demand for what we offered,” says Barton.

John and Sid knew they had tapped into this need when 300 family and private business owners showed up at one of their early introductory meetings.

Community-minded volunteers provided millions of dollars’ worth of time and expertise to the Center so that it could run its programs for an affordable fee.

Barton found that many organizations started by faculty at other universities were focused on the faculty member, making their sustainability beyond that individual suspect.

Instead, the Goering Center is community-driven, although academics are involved and connected with it. Barton and the Board transitioned the Center to a non-profit in 2001  and clarified that it wouldn’t provide consulting or allow its professional service members to actively pursue clients participating in Center programs, keeping it a safe haven.

“The Goering Center is a shared vision that’s come true,” says Barton.

The Goering Center has helped thousands of members navigate through their challenges, becoming America’s largest university-based educational resource for family and private businesses in the process.

“It’s important to me to leave a legacy. The fact that we institutionalized this organization means that it will go forward. I’d like to be known as the guy who, with John’s generous philanthropy, made it happen.” And that too is part of the shared vision – thank you Sid Barton!

Featured image: Dr. Sidney Barton, John Goering Impact Award Recipient

The Goering Center is sharing this content as part of its 2022 Family and Private Business Awards celebration.