Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC), headquartered at the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship in Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, brought leading university entrepreneurship programs together to celebrate creativity and innovation in university-based entrepreneurship education for its recent annual conference. GCEC also announced the top programs in higher education at the event.

The conference, which saw its largest attendance this year, is the flagship event of the GCEC, which facilitates collaboration of global entrepreneurship center leaders with the goal of advancing, strengthening and celebrating the role universities fulfill in educating future entrepreneurs. This year, Babson College hosted more than 700 leaders from universities across the world for more than 90 breakout sessions where entrepreneurship education experts shared their knowledge and highlighted their programs.

At the close of the conference, 16 universities were awarded top honors in nine categories and several others were commended. Here are the 2024 GCEC awardees:

Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center, schools with less than 7,500 students:

• Highly Commended: Entrepreneurship Innovation Center at Bowie State University.
• Winner: Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Tulsa.

Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center, schools with more than 7,500 students:

• Highly Commended: Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University.
• Winner: Tulane Innovation Institute at Tulane University.

Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines:

• Highly Commended: University of Toronto Entrepreneurship.
• Winner:  Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale University.

Outstanding Contributions to Venture Creation:

• Highly Commended: Velocity at the University of Waterloo
• Winner 1: Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago.
• Winner 2: University of Toronto Entrepreneurship.

Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education:

• Highly Commended: The Frank & Eileen Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College.
• Winner: UCL School of Management at University College London.

Outstanding Student Engagement & Leadership, schools with less than 7,500 students:

• Winner: Joseph C. Prince Entrepreneurship Program at Stetson University.

Outstanding Student Engagement & Leadership, schools with more than 7,500 students:

• Winner: Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Hawaii.
• Winner: J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Arizona State University.

Exceptional Contributions in Entrepreneurship Research:

• Highly Commended: The Frank & Eileen Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College.
• Winner: Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University.

Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation:

• Highly Commended: The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development at the University of California Santa Cruz.
• Highly Commended: The SMU Impact Lab at Southern Methodist University.
• Winner: Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Loyola University Maryland.

Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence, schools with less than 7,500 students:

• Winner: Institute of Entrepreneurship and Private Capital at the London Business School.

Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence, schools with more than 7,500 students:

• Highly Commended: Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Indiana University.
• Highly Commended: Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas.
• Winner 1: Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Texas Christian University.
• Winner 2: Georgetown Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University.

GCEC Center of Entrepreneurial Leadership:

• Winner 1: Babson College.
• Winner 2: Sasin School of Management in Bangkok, Thailand.

Two legacy awards honored individuals for their pioneering work advancing entrepreneurship in universities and/or directing a university entrepreneurship center that created a legacy impact on the field. The candidates for this award demonstrate a long-term commitment to entrepreneurship in an academic setting, achieve a standard of excellence and make a substantial impact upon students, faculty, staff, startups or their region. This year’s winners:

• Winner 1: Jeffrey S. Hornsby, University of Missouri-Kansas City.
• Winner 2: Tom Byers and Tina Seelig, Stanford University.

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