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IU’s Kelley School of Business establishes entrepreneurship institute

New Institute for Entrepreneurship and Competitive Enterprise will enhance school’s top-ranked entrepreneurship program

Jul 2, 2019
The Kelley School of Business on the Bloomington campus

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University has announced the establishment of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Competitive Enterprise within the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

The institute will enhance the Johnson Center’s research and teaching mission – a central component of the Kelley School’s entrepreneurship program, which is consistently ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The Johnson Center has raised more than $19 million in donations from a wide range of benefactors dedicated to the center’s mission. In addition, support for the institute’s launch was provided through a $5.9 million gift from the Charles Koch Foundation. These funds will provide support for faculty and program staff, student and faculty research, and graduate student fellowships.

Scope of the institute

The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Competitive Enterprise is an academically focused initiative established to study and explore the role of entrepreneurship as a catalyst for economic development, creation of employment opportunities, and community and societal advancement.

What it offers to students, faculty and the state

  • Students: The institute will develop and execute programs to connect undergraduate and graduate students with some of the nation’s leading authorities in entrepreneurship. Starting in the fall, programming will include seminars and speaker series to teach students about the opportunities and challenges associated with being an entrepreneur. The institute has the potential to open new doors for students across the university.
  • Faculty and research: Recognizing that entrepreneurship is multidisciplinary in nature, the institute will also provide faculty and graduate students from across the university with summer fellowships that will foster cross-campus collaborations in research, education, course development and teaching opportunities.
  • Catalyst for new jobs and retaining recent graduates in Indiana: Indiana University has made great strides in its “design/make/build” types of programs, such as the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, and the School of Art, Architecture + Design, among others. One of the institute’s aims is to help students and faculty convert their ideas and innovations into start-up enterprises that, in turn, create employment opportunities and retain top talent within the state.

Institute leadership

  • Donald F. Kuratko, the Johnson Center’s executive and academic director and the Kelley School’s Jack M. Gill Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship, will oversee the institute.

Where it’s located

The institute is housed at the Kelley School of Business in the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. As one of the nation’s foremost entrepreneurial education hubs, the Johnson Center conducts groundbreaking research that appears in top academic journals and books adopted by universities around the globe. In addition, the Kelley School of Business houses one of the most productive teams of faculty engaged in entrepreneurship research and teaching and makes an important contribution to Indiana University’s reputation for innovation. In 2018, a 12-year longitudinal study of worldwide research productivity in entrepreneurship and innovation published in the Journal of Small Business Management ranked Indiana University the No.1 institution and faculty.

The Johnson Center and the Kelley School play an important role in supporting entrepreneurship and innovation across campus through collaborations with schools such as the Jacobs School of Music; the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs; the School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering; the Maurer School of Law; and the Biotechnology Program in the College of Arts and Sciences. The center has also established an entrepreneurial ideation competition in which students from any discipline across the IU Bloomington campus vie for $20,000 to support their new venture proposals. The 2019 event had 150 student idea submissions.

Quotes from those involved

  • “The research and fellowships supported through the IECE are key, and will allow us to attract and train the best and brightest doctoral students and faculty in this growing field.” – Idalene “Idie” Kesner, dean of the Kelley School of Business and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management
  • “We are extremely excited about launching the institute and are confident that it will enhance the academic mission in entrepreneurship for the Kelley School of Business. In addition, the development of the institute will ensure that the powerful entrepreneurship research mission that our faculty pursues will continue for years to come.” – Donald F. Kuratko, Johnson Center executive and academic director and the Kelley School’s Jack M. Gill Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship
  • “The Kelley School has long been a leader in entrepreneurship education, earning numerous top rankings and staff and program recognitions over the years. We see many ways the IECE will enable academic units across the campus to further enrich their offerings to students.” – Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Indiana University Foundation, dean emeritus of the Kelley School of Business and the Claire W. Barker Chair in Marketing
  • “The Kelley School is one of the most important venues for entrepreneurship education and research in the country. We’re excited to support the school’s plans to build on the success of its leading program and to provide additional resources and opportunities for students who are interested in studying how innovation and entrepreneurship can improve society for the benefit of all.” – Ryan Stowers, executive vice president, Charles Koch Foundation

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