SFA entrepreneurship program, center named a top emerging entrepreneurship program in country
For the second year in a row, Stephen F. Austin State University’s entrepreneurship academic program and Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship in the Rusche College of Business were collectively named one of the top three emerging entrepreneurship programs in the nation by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
This award recognizes colleges and universities for their efforts developing nascent entrepreneurship programs that demonstrate outstanding progress toward becoming comprehensive, bold and innovative educational programs with early records of student impact.
“We introduced the entrepreneurship major in fall 2020 and opened the center in 2023, and it is amazing to see what ACE has accomplished in just a short amount of time and the impact that it is having not only for SFA students but also for the community,” said Matthew Smilor, ACE director. “This award validates a lot of work Rusche College of Business faculty, staff and students, as well as local community members, have done to build this hub for entrepreneurs in East Texas.”
The Center for Leading the Integration of Faith and Entrepreneurship at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and The University of Tulsa’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Oklahoma were the other two finalists in the category.
“From the Lumberjack Entrepreneurship Competition to the Piney Woods Entrepreneurship Network, ACE plays a central role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of East Texas and trains students to create, explore, invent, pioneer, imagine and innovate,” said Dr. Raymond Jones, director of SFA’s entrepreneurship program. “Our students and community are the wellspring for the startup of new businesses and the growth of existing enterprises.”
Founded in 1981, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship is an inclusive community of educators, researchers and entrepreneurs advancing entrepreneurship education through bold teaching, scholarship and practice. They are considered the premier entrepreneurship educational organization in the U.S.
ACE and its subunit, the Small Business Resource Hub, are two of four entities launched by the Rusche College of Business to help bolster local businesses. The others are Business and Community Services and the Center for Business and Economic Research.
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