Last modified: Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Fortune Small Business praises Kelley School's MBA and undergraduate programs in entrepreneurship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 22, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Fortune Small Business magazine reports that both the undergraduate and MBA programs offered by Indiana University's Kelley School of Business are among the top programs nationally "for aspiring entrepreneurs."
While Fortune Small Business did not rank the programs, Kelley was one of two schools that were singled out in presentations of the top four MBA and top five undergraduate programs in the magazine's September issue. The report also is featured at CNNMoney.com.
The magazine based its findings on interviews with hundreds of entrepreneurs, professors, students, alumni, university administrators and venture capitalists.
"In addition to having a faculty that is focused on entrepreneurship research, an Indiana education offers a good mix of corporate and startup entrepreneurship," Roland Kidwell, associate professor at the University of Wyoming, told Fortune Small Business.
Also highlighted was how students at IU are taught how to generate ideas, in addition to learning how to build a business.
"Starting next year, Hoosiers will have the option of taking a high-stakes senior course -- which is not required, but highly recommended for serious entrepreneurs," the magazine reported. "If a panel of VCs and business owners like your venture plan, your senior year tuition is free. The downside: If they disapprove, you fail the course."
The magazine also praised Donald F. Kuratko, the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship and executive director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, calling him "a true trailblazer." He was one of 18 professors profiled.
"With legendary professor Donald F. Kuratko at the helm of the entrepreneurship center, Indiana is one of the few schools to award Ph.D.s in the topic for those with a scholarly bent," the magazine said. "The school teaches its students how to take risks and build new markets, whether they are running a startup or a Fortune 500 corporation."
Kuratko said he appreciates the additional recognition for the school. "I am certainly honored to be featured this way in the Fortune article," he said, "but my recognition is a mere reflection of our faculty team here at IU that is respected world wide for their research and leadership in entrepreneurship."
Dan Smith, dean of the Kelley School, added, "Being recognized by Fortune is certainly an honor for us. Our faculty in the entrepreneurship area are among the most prominent in the world. Beyond being extraordinary scholars, they go the extra mile to provide our students with a life-changing experience. Don Kuratko, in particular, has taken our entrepreneurship center and our outreach activities to a new level."
According to the Kauffman Foundation, nearly 3,000 schools in the United States offer classes in entrepreneurship, a ten-fold increase since the mid-1980s. Less than a week ago, U.S. News and World Report named Kelley's undergraduate entrepreneurship program as the best at a public university and second best overall.
The only other school from Indiana in the survey was Ball State University, which was recognized for its undergraduate program.
