BAUER COLLEGE AT UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON
ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM LANDS ON TOP OF PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL LIST
Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review Rank Bauer No. 2
among entrepreneurship programs in undergraduate business schools
across U.S.
HOUSTON, TX, Oct. 10, 2007 – The C. T. Bauer College of Business
at the University of Houston is celebrating another milestone this
year as The Princeton Review has ranked its entrepreneurship program
No. 2 among the nation’s undergraduate business schools in
Entrepreneur magazine.
This marks the first time that the University of Houston has been
included on the list of the Top 25 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurs,
which names Babson College as No. 1 and also cites Baylor University,
the University of Arizona, Notre Dame, University of Southern California,
University of Maryland and Syracuse University among many others.
“We are extremely pleased with our number two ranking by
two great organizations,” Dean Arthur D. Warga said. “The
Princeton Review is one of the country’s premier ranking surveys
for colleges, and Entrepreneur magazine is the top business title
in the U.S. This very strong ranking is a reflection of our students,
faculty, college and the University of Houston system,” he
added.
It also accentuates the fact that Houston is a place where business
on a local and global scale thrives.”
Houston Mayor Bill White agreed, noting that entrepreneurship students
and graduates from Bauer College greatly contribute to the city’s
economy with their business ventures. “Houston, built on the
brain-power and horsepower of entrepreneurship, is a great city
of opportunity. The Bauer College is one of the best assets we have
to harness that opportunity,” White said. "The excellence
of Bauer's CEI program is the result of the hard work and dedication
of its students and faculty," said John M. Rudley, interim
president of the University of Houston. "Although we're well
aware of the quality and importance of this program, it's gratifying
to have it recognized nationally."
Bauer College has been educating business leaders for decades,
with its Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CEI) cementing
the school’s status as a leader in entrepreneurship when it
was created in 1993. The Commission for Higher Education approved
entrepreneurship as a major in 1995. Since then, the program has
flourished and now attracts more than 1,300 students a semester,
said William Sherrill, founder and co-chairman for CEI. In the past,
Bauer’s entrepreneurship program has been recognized regionally.
This honor is its first national ranking, which is indicative of
the tremendous growth and breadth of the program, which educates
business students as well as those from other disciplines through
its global business minor, Sherrill said.
“This sort of ranking really says a lot about the program,”
he said. “When people see what we have to offer, it attracts
students, which is what we need to do at the end of the day. Also,
any time any part of the university is recognized, it engenders
a sense of pride in the city and gets us more support.”
The ranking also validates the world-class education Bauer students
have been receiving through the Center for Entrepreneurship &
Innovation’s entrepreneurship program, its global business
minor and its intrapreneurship certification program, said program
director Dan Steppe.
“This ranking is a reflection of the hard work, energy, goals
and dreams of our students,” Steppe said. “It shows
who they are and what they’re doing. They believe that an
entrepreneurial vision is important, and we give them the tools,
the strength, the determination and the lack of fear they need to
realize that vision.”
Bauer College offers its entrepreneurship students a “complete
and comprehensive” program that includes a six-course lockstep
program as well as several enrichment activities to supplement the
academic instruction. Each year, between 30 and 35 students are
selected through a rigorous application process to take CEI’s
major program in entrepreneurship.
In addition, the CEI certification program in intrapreneurship
is the foundation of the college’s global business minor for
non-business students. More than 300 non-business students take
CEI courses each year and have an opportunity to see how entrepreneurial
thinking can be applied to their interests in engineering, science,
social science or the arts.
“CEI’s custom-designed courses for teaching the entrepreneurial
process as well as support programs to provide our students with
mentors, roundtable discussions and guest speakers give students
a real-world perspective,” CEI program manager Brian Stephenson
said. “We have developed a proven system for helping students
take an intangible idea and turn it into a tangible and profitable
reality.”
As of 2007, an average of 70 percent of CEI students start a business
while in school or shortly after graduating. CEI students have also
won numerous awards in national business plan competitions —
even outperforming MBA teams from other schools including Carnegie
Mellon. Students in Bauer’s executive MBA program have also
had the opportunity this year to take elective courses in entrepreneurship
and intrapreneurship.
“We are delighted to be in the No. 2 spot on The Princeton
Review’s list in Entrepreneur magazine and believe that we
can be No. 1 with continued support from Houston’s entrepreneurial
community,” said Dr. Edward Blair, chairman of the college’s
department of marketing and entrepreneurship. “The proof of
our program is in the many awards our students have won in business
plan competitions and the successful businesses they operate.”
The Kaufman Foundation has estimated that approximately 464,000
people per month created new businesses in the United States in
2005. Small firms have generated 60 to 80 percent of new net jobs
annually over the last decade and produce 13 to 14 times more patents
per employee, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“To be included in the Top 25 undergraduate entrepreneurship
programs in the nation is a big success for us and very humbling,”
Steppe added. “It’s an honor to be in that group of
elite schools. The idea of teaching entrepreneurship has grown very
rapidly, and there are a lot of good schools doing that now. It’s
very important for the future of our city and country.”
The Princeton Review determined the rankings by evaluating key
criteria in the areas of academics and requirements, students and
faculty, and outside-the-classroom support and experiences from
the 370 undergraduate programs that were surveyed.
For a complete listing of the schools ranked and a full database
of details on each of their programs, visit www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges.
Pick up the November issue of Entrepreneur on newsstands October
23rd to read the feature story.
Bauer College will celebrate with its UH family during an internal
event on Oct. 18, while Mayor Bill White and the City of Houston
will honor the college during an official recognition at the Oct.
23 Houston City Council meeting.
About the University of Houston The University of Houston, Texas’
premier metropolitan research and teaching institution is home to
more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than
300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities.
UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands
at the forefront of education, research and service with more than
35,000 students.
About the C. T. Bauer College of Business
The C. T. Bauer College of Business has been in operation for more
than 60 years at the University of Houston main campus. Through
its five academic departments, the college offers a full-range of
undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in business. The Bauer
College is fully accredited by the AACSB International – the
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In August
2000, Houston business leader and philanthropist Charles T. (Ted)
Bauer endowed the College of Business with a $40 million gift. In
recognition of his generosity, the college was renamed the C. T.
Bauer College of Business.
About the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation was founded in
1993 by Bill Sherrill, former governor of the Federal Reserve, director
of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, corporate president
and serial entrepreneur. The Commission for Higher Education approved
CEI’s request to allow entrepreneurship as a major in 1995.
From its inception, CEI has followed a vision that the best instruction
in entrepreneurship combines academic rigor with the perspective
of experienced entrepreneurs. Each semester, more than 1,300 students
enroll in a CEI entrepreneurship course.
About The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review, a leading provider of educational services,
surveyed more than 370 undergraduate and business schools about
their offerings in entrepreneurship. The survey included questions
covering everything from mentoring, experiential learning and specific
course offerings to alumni successes and career prospects of current
students. Schools that ranked high demonstrated a commitment to
entrepreneurship both inside and outside the classroom and had faculty,
students and alumni actively involved and successful in entrepreneurial
endeavors.
About Entrepreneur Media Inc.
Entrepreneur Media Inc. is the premier content provider for and
about entrepreneurs. Our products engage and inspire every day with
the advice, solutions and resources that fuel the bold and independent
way entrepreneurs think. After 30 years, nobody reaches more growing
businesses. As the original magazine for the small and midsize business
community, Entrepreneur continues to be the definitive guide to
all the diverse challenges of business ownership. Entrepreneur.com
is the most widely used website by entrepreneurs and emerging businesses
worldwide. Entrepreneur Press publishes the books that turn entrepreneurial
skills into business success.
For more information about UH visit the universitys
Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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