Entrepreneur Magazine ranks the Whitman School’s entrepreneurship program as best in the country

Entrepreneur Magazine ranks the Whitman School’s entrepreneurship program as best in the countrySeptember 15, 2006Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

The Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE) program in the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University has been ranked as the best graduate program in entrepreneurship in the country by Entrepreneur Magazine and The Princeton Review. The EEE undergraduate program is ranked #2 in the country. The rankings will be published in the October issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, available Sept. 26.

“This is an exceptional recognition, and we are incredibly proud,” says Michael Morris, the Chris J. Witting Chair in Entrepreneurship. “Our program is really about a life philosophy — we immerse our students in the entrepreneurial mind-set by combining the classroom with experiential learning and outreach programs. We’re dedicated to changing lives, communities and ways of thinking through entrepreneurship, and we’re very pleased to have this outside acknowledgement of our success.”

The rankings are based on a survey of more than 700 schools nationwide. Criteria include entrepreneurial emphasis in the curriculum, mentoring, experiential learning, faculty credentials and the success of alumni.

“Mike Morris has transformed entrepreneurship at Whitman and at SU,” says Melvin T. Stith, dean of the Whitman School. “He has created a program that engages with every aspect of our campus and puts scholarship in action. He has also emphasized the important role entrepreneurship and higher education play in local communities through the outreach programs of the Michael J. Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship.”

The Department of Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises offers an innovative mix of 24 courses in entrepreneurship at the Ph.D., master’s and undergraduate levels, with more than 1,100 students a year enrolled in these courses. The Falcone Center organizes a variety of entrepreneurial activities for students, community members, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs. These programs include Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE); the Experiential Classroom; Start-Up: the Syracuse Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp; and the South Side Innovation Center. Whitman’s EEE program also hosts the university-wide Panasci Business Plan Competition, which annually awards $40,000 in prize money to the winning business plans, and the Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) residence hall.

For more information on Whitman’s EEE program or The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine rankings, contact Amy Mehringer, communications manager, Whitman School of Management, at (315) 443-3834 or aemehrin@syr.edu.