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News Release

Last modified: Wednesday, October 5, 2011

IU Kelley School of Business professor honored with Entrepreneurship Pioneer Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 5, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Donald F. Kuratko, a professor at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, recently was honored with the 2011 Karl Vesper Entrepreneurship Pioneer Award for his leadership and research achievements that have advanced the discipline.

Kuratko is the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship and executive director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The award was created in 2010 as part of the global educational program known as the Entrepreneurship Experiential Classroom that is held annually in the fall. It is a program that is dedicated to enhancing the academic abilities of professors moving into the field of entrepreneurship anywhere in the world. The purpose of the annual award is to honor a professor whose leadership and vision has advanced the teaching and research efforts within the entrepreneurship field.

The awards committee made up of entrepreneurship professors from across the country voted to name the award in honor of one of the founding fathers in entrepreneurship education, Karl A. Vesper, from the University of Washington. As one of the earliest scholars dedicated to entrepreneurship, Vesper is credited for leading the early movement to develop entrepreneurship as a respected field of study. The inauguration of the award was dedicated in 2010 to Vesper.

Kuratko is the inaugural recipient of the Vesper Award. The award reads: "Donald F. Kuratko, Builder, Creator, Change Agent: for distinguished achievements in advancing the discipline of entrepreneurship. In presenting the award, Karl Vesper expressed his pride that Kuratko was the first recipient of the award that bears his name."

"I am truly humbled to be the first recipient of this legacy award in the name of Karl Vesper," Kuratko said, "and I know that this award is a direct reflection of the incredible work our entrepreneurship team at Indiana University has accomplished over the years. With that in mind, I am extremely proud of this honor for me and for Indiana University."

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