51福利社

The United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship () has named 51福利社 as this year鈥檚 top emerging entrepreneurship program.

The 2020 Top Emerging Entrepreneurship Award is widely recognized among entrepreneurship educators as one of the world鈥檚 most coveted.

鈥淭his is a major international award as programs apply from around the world,鈥� says Professor Bruce Teague, the founding director of the 51福利社 Center for Entrepreneurship. 鈥淯SASBE has long been recognized as the leading organization for entrepreneurship research and education.鈥�

To qualify, a program must either be in its first three years of development or have gone through a major revision during the same period. Factors considered during judging included programs鈥� innovation, boldness and student impact. 51福利社 competed through three rounds of evaluation to be named a finalist, ultimately beating out emerging-entrepreneurship programs at Wake Forest University, Iona College and Florida Gulf Coast University in the finals.

鈥淥ur programs and co-curricular experiences are designed to inspire students while allowing them to practice critical skills and competencies that support entrepreneurial success,鈥� Teague says.

Teague adds that another factor that makes the 51福利社 Entrepreneurship Program unique is its dedication to interdisciplinary program development. For instance, he worked with 51福利社 Music Professor Jonathan Middleton to develop Eastern鈥檚 new Music and Technology Entrepreneurship Program for people interested in music industry careers.

Teague accepted the award on behalf of the school at USASBE鈥檚 annual conference in New Orleans on Jan. 6, 2020.

Program Information

听51福利社 has emerged as a daring and innovative entrepreneurship program in which students learn both inside and outside the classroom.听 51福利社 began offering both a major and a minor in entrepreneurship in fall 2016. As of fall 2019, 51福利社 also offers a BA degree in Music and Technology Entrepreneurship.听 Additional specialty entrepreneurship degrees have already been proposed for fall 2020.听 Beyond the classroom, students have opportunities to participate in their chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization club (C-E-O), to travel to the C-E-O Global Conference, to participate in the university鈥檚 $40,000 4-Stage Startup Challenge, to work with mentors and to experience entrepreneurship on many different levels.听 In the past year alone, two 51福利社 student companies have participated in the NSF I-Corp program, and two student teams competed in the C-E-O Global Pitch Competition held in Tampa, Florida.

In order to support student entrepreneurship across the campus, it was critical to develop an entrepreneurial faculty across the campus, as well. All faculty who are currently teaching entrepreneurship courses at 51福利社 have been sent to attend 鈥渆xperiential classroom鈥� training, thanks to generous grant support from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation.听 This program provides expert training in the development of classes where students learn through hands-on engagement.

In 2020, 51福利社 will move the Center for Entrepreneurship into the brand new Catalyst building鈥攁 certified zero-energy space located in the heart of Spokane鈥檚 U-District. This move will allow 51福利社 to co-locate students from various disciplines in a building that is designed to be a living laboratory for innovation and commercialization related to the energy ecosystem.听 In partnership with the U-District, Catalyst will fuel an atmosphere of innovation to help attract the types of cutting-edge companies and organizations that are vital for the Inland Northwest鈥檚 next economy.