University of Houston Bauer College Entrepreneurship Program is No. 1 in U.S.
City of Houston and UH Bauer Lead the Nation in Entrepreneurial Education and Activity
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the second time in four years, the entrepreneurship program at the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business has been ranked the best of its kind, landing at the top of The Princeton Review’s list of leading undergraduate entrepreneurship programs in the U.S. for Entrepreneur.
“The University of Houston is one of our crown jewels.”
The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at UH Bauer again is No. 1 on the list of the Top 25 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurs, released by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur on Sept. 20. The program was ranked No. 1 in 2008 and No. 2 in 2007 and 2009.
“We have always believed that Houston is a place where the spirit of entrepreneurship is especially strong,” Bauer College Dean Arthur D. Warga said. “The prestigious designation of UH Bauer as No. 1 in entrepreneurship is an incredible accomplishment not only for our program and the university but also for the City of Houston.”
Baylor University and Babson College rank second and third, respectively. The entrepreneurship program at UH Bauer also topped The University of Notre Dame, Syracuse University, Washington University, University of Southern California and University of Arizona.
The Kauffman Foundation recently ranked Houston the leading entrepreneurial city out of the 15 largest in the U.S. Despite an economic downturn and record unemployment, entrepreneurship nationwide has risen in the past year, according to a Kauffman study, with 558,000 new businesses created monthly in the U.S.
HOUSTON’S LEADERS SALUTE UH, CITY RANKING AS ENTREPRENEURSHIP HUB
Political, business and academic city leaders spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of business leaders, representing a broad spectrum of companies and industries, which filled the lobby of City Hall at a Sept. 22 celebration of the ranking and Houston’s multitude of accomplishments.
“We’re here to celebrate the success of the University of Houston, of the City of Houston and Bauer College,” said Ronald Green, city of Houston controller and a UH alum. “Bauer College is already Tier One and we’re here to recognize that.”
The Wolff Center reflects the spirit of enterprise of the city of Houston, which has been shaped by entrepreneurs who dared to do big things, Green said.
The city’s top elected official said Houston’s prosperity is built on a “can do” attitude and a city that never says “can’t.”
“Houston is a city of people with passion and vision,” said Mayor Annise Parker. “The University of Houston is one of our crown jewels.”
Greater Houston Partnership president and CEO Jeff Moseley said the city’s primary business advocate will emphasize the number one ranking when working to bring businesses to Houston.
“We’re going to brag about it all over the world,” Moseley said. “The number one ranking will get the attention of big companies.”
Created in 1993, the Wolff Center has since developed courses for entrepreneurship majors as well as business minors, now attracting more than 1,800 students a semester. Houstonians Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff became the namesakes of the program in 2008. Wolff is a 1953 Bauer graduate, a member of the Dean’s Executive Board and chairman of the board for Star Furniture, a Berkshire-Hathaway company.
Wolff, who meets every entrepreneurship student each semester to trade ideas and advice over lunch, said the students “really have a fire in their belly” to compete and create a business.
The program has grown tremendously in recent years to educate business students as well as those from other disciplines through its global business minor, Warga said.
“Our students gain tremendous learning from the real world experience of our faculty — all have landed, bought or successfully run their own businesses,” he added. “Most importantly, students are starting businesses, and they’re primarily staying in the Houston area, benefiting our local economy. From restaurants to goods and service-oriented companies, the success stories of WCE graduates can be seen in businesses throughout the city.”
Bauer offers entrepreneurship students a comprehensive program of six courses and enrichment activities to supplement academic instruction. Each year, between 30 and 35 students are selected through a rigorous application process to major in entrepreneurship.
In addition, the WCE corporate entrepreneurship certificate is the foundation of the college’s global business minor for non-business students. Nearly 1,000 non-business students each year have an opportunity to see how entrepreneurial thinking can be applied to engineering, science, social science or the arts.
Each year, an average of 65 percent of WCE students start a business while in school or shortly after graduating. Others join existing ventures and apply the entrepreneurial lessons learned at UH Bauer to innovate and expand those businesses. WCE students have also won numerous awards in national business plan competitions, outperforming MBA teams from other schools including Carnegie Mellon.
The Princeton Review determined the rankings of both graduate and undergraduate programs by evaluating key criteria in the areas of academics and requirements, students and faculty, and outside-the-classroom support and experiences from more than 2,000 programs that were surveyed.
“To be included in the Top 25 programs in the nation is a big success for us and very humbling,” Warga 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.”
For the complete list, visit www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges. Full details are in the October issue of Entrepreneur.
9/24/2010
University of Houston Bauer College Entrepreneurship Program is No. 1 in U.S. | Business Wire
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