UNH Named One Of The Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges And Universities By Entrepreneur Magazine


Related Links Whittemore School of Business and Economics Entrepreneur magazine		UNH Named One Of The Top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges And Universities By Entrepreneur Magazine Ranking Based On Programs At Whittemore School of Business and Economics Contact: Lori Wright 603-862-0574 UNH Media Relations April 27, 2005 DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire has been named one of the best 100 collegiate entrepreneurship programs in the United States in the April 2005 issue of Entrepreneur magazine. UNH appears in the second tier of the list of the top 50 regionally recognized academic programs in the country. The ranking, which is based on entrepreneurial programs at the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics, comes just one week after the school was named one of the top 100 U.S. business schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, and months after it was named one of the Top 25 Most Entrepreneurial Colleges by The Princeton Review and Forbes.com, ranking 10th in the nation. “The Whittemore School is honored to be recognized for the third time in recent months. These rankings establish the Whittemore School as one of the elite entrepreneurial programs in the country. As word of the school’s accomplishments circulate, we expect to see continued national recognition,” said Steve Bolander, dean of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. “The Entrepreneur ranking reaffirms the school’s commitment to the discipline of entrepreneurship and recognizes the efforts that faculty, students and staff have made to develop entrepreneurship as an area of expertise for the Whittemore School. It is also a testimony to the tremendous support that we have received from our many industry partners who work with us on a daily basis, and reflects the contributions made by our alumni and friends. This recent recognition validates the guiding principle of our graduate and undergraduate programs – the integration of theoretical coursework with hands-on learning and in-depth apprentice programs that connect students with industry leaders,” Bolander said. A recent study showed that entrepreneurship students start more companies, and they are more successful. Sales and employment growth of companies owned by or employing entrepreneurship graduates was more than five times the rate of other firms. In addition, entrepreneurship graduates working in large firms earn, on average, $23,000 a year more than non-entrepreneurship business graduates. At the Whittemore School, students participate in several entrepreneurial activities. The Corporate Roundtable and High-Tech Entrepreneurship Internship are two of many courses that combine supervised work experience at an area company with seminar-style classroom discussion. Students enjoy the benefits of learning from both faculty and corporate mentors. The Executives-in-Residence program links students to retired executives through teaching, mentoring, and seminars. The business school is home to research centers that focus on entrepreneurship: The Center for Venture Research and the William Rosenberg International Center of Franchising. In addition, the school offers courses on entrepreneurial management, private equity and venture capital, new product development, market and opportunity analysis, and high-tech entrepreneurship. Students interested in starting a high-growth venture can take the Entrepreneurial Venture Creation option. The program fosters an entrepreneurial sensibility by adding a strong applied learning component to traditional lectures and seminars. The Holloway Seminar Series sponsored by New Hampshire entrepreneur Paul Holloway brings business leaders to campus four times a year. The series culminates with the Holloway Business Plan Competition each May, which awards prizes to undergraduate and graduate students, either as teams or individuals, who develop the most realistic plans for starting, acquiring, or expanding a business venture in each of two tracks: high-growth ventures and lifestyle ventures. The rankings for Entrepreneur’s third annual evaluation of the best entrepreneurship programs at U.S. colleges and universities were performed by TechKnowledge Point Corp. in Santa Barbara, Calif. The story and listing are available in the April issue of Entrepreneur magazine and online at http://www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges.