Press Release
Contact:
Robert Albright |
Phone:
919-549-7500 ext.123 |
N.C. Universities Gain National Acclaim for Entrepreneurial Endeavors
NC Schools Receive Kauffman Grants and Top Honors by Entrepreneur Magazine; CED's outreach efforts help bring entrepreneurship to NCCU
May 8, 2003, Research Triangle Park, NC — North Carolina's leading public and private universities are gaining national attention for their entrepreneurship programs. Through grant money and leading national rankings, North Carolina institutions of higher learning - Wake Forest University (WFU), Duke University, UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and UNC-Charlotte (UNC-C) - are staking their claim as leaders of entrepreneurial training and education in the United States.
Kauffman grant award winner NCCU received a $50,000 commitment to enhance its new campus entrepreneurship program. Assisted in its proposal by CED's Community Outreach and Development Committee (CODC), the NCCU proposal described the institution's plans for new entrepreneurship education through an internship program, business plan competition and case study development. Entrepreneur Donovan Moxey, chairman of CED's Community Outreach and Development Committee, said he and the committee were very pleased with NCCU's Kauffman grant.
“Under Dr. H. James Williams' leadership, Central's business school is executing on its strong vision for the future, and we're pleased they've chosen to work with us on the entrepreneurship plank,” Moxey said. “The Kauffman grant will go a long way in helping to prepare budding entrepreneurs for opportunities here in North Carolina.”
In addition to NCCU's grant, four other universities from North Carolina recently received the 2003 Kauffman Collegiate Entrepreneurship Network grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The five North Carolina recipients, among 52 programs selected from over 300 applicants, support the Kauffman Foundation's efforts to increase and strengthen entrepreneurship in America. Below are the five North Carolina universities that received grants, along with the amount and expected use of the money:
- Duke University, $50,000, internships; field research; social enterprise initiatives
- North Carolina Central University, $50,000, internships; business plan competition; case study development
- North Carolina State University, $50,000, awareness; faculty and curriculum development; business plan competition
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $50,000, venture capital investment competition; Social Entrepreneurship Scholars
- Wake Forest University, $47,300, awareness; new venture contest; liberal arts curriculum development
Dr. H. James Williams, dean of NCCU's School of Business, said the grant would bolster entrepreneurship in the region.
“Receiving this grant speaks volumes about what we're trying to do in academia and in economic development,” Williams said. “It's an outstanding opportunity to help improve the entrepreneurial climate.”
Robert Chapman of NCCU said the grant will expose students at NCCU's School of Business to a more concrete description of the prototype entrepreneur.
“The Kauffman Collegiate Enterprise Network Grant Award, especially with CED as a strategic partner, will enable those aspiring NCCU School of Business students the opportunity to observe and learn the rewards and challenges of entrepreneurship from entrepreneurs and their ongoing business enterprises,” Chapman said.
In addition to the Kauffman grants, five N.C. universities were also ranked among the top entrepreneurship programs, both regionally and nationally by Entrepreneur magazine. In its April 2003 issue, the magazine ranked the top 100 entrepreneurial programs out of more than 700 total, with 50 national and 50 regional rankings each subdivided into four tiers:
- Top Tier, National: Wake Forest University
- Second Tier, National: Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill
- Third Tier, Regional: North Carolina State University
- Fourth Tier, Regional: UNC-Charlotte
Wake Forest's Babcock Graduate School of Management, with its Angell Center for Entrepreneurship, was also recognized as the top-ranked school among entrepreneurship faculty.
“We are quite pleased with our ranking because it speaks well for the breadth of our students and dedication of faculty,” said Dr. Stan Mandel, director of the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship. “Building a world-class entrepreneurship program requires combining the talents and strengths of students, faculty, area entrepreneurs, and service providers - including such industry leaders as North Carolina's CED.”
Jeff Reid, executive director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Venturing, said the awards showed the important role that entrepreneurial education plays in area universities.
“North Carolina should be proud to have so many schools recognized among the best in the country for entrepreneurship,” Reid said. “The universities really feed the entrepreneurial community, with technology and talent.”
According to Entrepreneur, the rankings are based on a variety of criteria, including course offerings, teaching and research faculty, business-community outreaches, research centers and institutes, advisory boards, off-campus programs, other entrepreneurial initiatives, degrees and certificates offered, and faculty and alumni evaluations. A complete list of ranked schools is available at www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org