HOUSTON – (Oct. 18, 2021) – The world’s premier university-based entrepreneurship institutes and leaders were celebrated at the 25th annual Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Conference.
The Baltimore conference, hosted by Loyola University Maryland and the University of Baltimore on Oct. 13-16, showcased higher education’s role in supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs who have been most affected by economic crises and hold the most potential for growth. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at the Jones Graduate School of Business is the administrative home for the GCEC.
More than 500 people attended in person or virtually to hear more than 70 breakout sessions and keynotes from Marcus Bullock, founder of Flikshop; Nnadagi Isa and Louise Isa, founders of Lor Tush; Philip Gaskin, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation; Ryan Maliszewski, chief executive officer at Mozzeria; and Allysa Dittmar, co-founder of ClearMask.
On Saturday, 20 centers were feted as the best of university entrepreneurship across 10 categories among more than 65 nominees. The top honor, the Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, traditionally goes to a single program but it was expanded this year to recognize one small university (less than 5,000 students) and one large university (more than 5,000 students). The GCEC Awards are chaired by Holly DeArmond, managing director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland, one of the three founding schools of the GCEC.
The awardees:
Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, schools with less than 5,000 students
- Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Trinity University
Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, schools with more than 5,000 students
- McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, Texas A&M University
Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center, schools with less than 5,000 students
- Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Iona College
Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center, schools with more than 5,000 students
- Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale, Yale University
- ASPER-HUJI Innovate, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Miller School of Entrepreneurship, East Carolina University
- Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship at James Madison University
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute at Georgia State University
Outstanding Contributions to Venture Creation
- NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, New York University
- Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Minnesota
Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines
- Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Colorado Boulder
- Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Elon University
- Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Texas Christian University
Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education
- Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Texas at Dallas
- NYU Entrepreneurial Institute, New York University
Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation
- Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Indiana University
- Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Outstanding Student Engagement & Leadership, schools with less than 5,000 students
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation Program, Clark University
Outstanding Student Engagement & Leadership, schools with more than 5,000 students
- Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland
- Yazamut 360°, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Exceptional Contributions in Entrepreneurship Research
- Diana International Research Institute, Babson College
GCEC Center of Entrepreneurial Leadership
- Loyola University Maryland
- University of Baltimore
Three GCEC Legacy Awards honored individuals for pioneering work in advancing entrepreneurship at universities and/or directing a university entrepreneurship center that created a legacy impact on the field. The awards were created in 2012; to date, there have been only 13 recipients.
The winners:
- Linda Darragh, the Larry Levy Executive Director of the Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative and clinical professor of entrepreneurial practice at Northwestern University
- Jack Gill, professor of the practice of entrepreneurship at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business
- Michael Morris, professor of entrepreneurship and social innovation at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs
The GCEC is a consortium of 250 leading university entrepreneurship programs that work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other advancing, strengthening and celebrating the role of universities in educating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.