Neeley School of Business ranks 21st in nation for Entrepreneurship

Fort Worth, TX

9/20/2011

Entrepreneur magazine has recognized the Neeley School of Business at TCU as a top 25 undergraduate entrepreneurship program out of more than 2,000 schools surveyed by The Princeton Review. (www.PrincetonReview.com) The Neeley School ranked No. 21 in the undergraduate category.
 
The Neeley School was evaluated based on teaching entrepreneurship business fundamentals in the classroom, staffing departments with successful entrepreneurs, excellence in mentorship, opportunities outside of the classroom, and non-traditional, distinguishable aspects of the program. Entrepreneurship is the core undergraduate program within the Department of Management, Entrepreneurship and Leadership in the Neeley School.
 
“Entrepreneurship is a cross-campus phenomenon at TCU, so we share this award with the students, faculty, staff and administrators who make TCU such an entrepreneurial environment,” said Brad Hancock, director of the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center.
 
There are 150 declared entrepreneurship majors at TCU, and the TCU student chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, TCU CEO, boasts the largest membership in the country with more than 300 members. While the core entrepreneurship program is based in the Neeley School of Business, entrepreneurship courses are integrated into schools and departments throughout TCU via the TCU/Coleman Faculty Fellows in Entrepreneurship, supported by the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center.
 
The top-25 ranking is one of several accolades for the Neeley entrepreneurship program, which was named the 2011 National Model Entrepreneurship Program by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and recently ranked No. 19 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek. The Neeley Entrepreneurship Center will host the 2011 National Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Conference in Fort Worth, Oct. 27-29, 2011.
 
“Entrepreneurship is more than identifying and developing entrepreneurial opportunities. At TCU, it’s about the process of creating value,” Hancock said. “We help students identify their individual talents and values and apply them to their businesses and communities. Through this entrepreneurial journey, students develop and express a business passion that maximizes their human potential and enables them to leave a legacy for which they can be proud.”
 
Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s senior vice president/publisher, said that the top-ranked schools not only provide a great formal classroom experience, but also “a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching entrepreneurship that embraces and encourages a student’s vision to build a successful business.”
 
“The right education enhances and reinforces curiosity and creative thinking in entrepreneurs,” Entrepreneur Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Amy Cosper commented. The Neeley School provides “the type of training, encouragement and direction that nurtures entrepreneurial skills,” she said.
 
The results of the survey, along with the analysis, appear in the October issue of Entrepreneur, which hit newsstands Sept. 20. The ranking can be seen at online at www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges  and www.princetonreview.com/entrepreneur.