Center for Entrepreneurship
The Center for Entrepreneurship (CE), a cross-campus, cross-community resource for entrepreneurs and private business owners, is one of the oldest and most honored entrepreneurship centers in the nation. The goal of Saint Louis University's Entrepreneurship Center is to help entrepreneurs combine their passion with the planning skill taught in a world-class institution, to produce high-performance organizations. Our mission is: to deliver and develop world-class entrepreneurship education for all.
What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the engine of local, national and global economies. Entrepreneurship is an opportunity open to all, regardless of age, race, or nationality. Entrepreneurship reflects the mindset originally identified with those who start their own business - a willingness to take on risks and challenges to achieve their dreams, a passionate focus on their product or service and the needs of those who would benefit from it, an interest in innovation, being the first into a market or the first to make use of new technologies or rules, or the first to offer an improvement on what people are used to. The talents of classic entrepreneurs can benefit big corporations, non-profits, and even government, and at Saint Louis University we teach our students that entrepreneurship can occur in corporate, social and independent ventures.
Entrepreneurial Leadership reflects the special type of skill displayed by entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial leaders engage and inspire others to believe in the entrepreneur's dream. It is leadership not of what "is" but what "can be" because entrepreneurs often must find supporters in order to launch their product or service. It is a leadership that is acutely aware of the need to tread lightly on resources and the community. It is also front-line leadership, because an entrepreneurial leader is clearly in the trenches with their people all the time, leading the way to the brighter imagined future. It is the leadership of birth and rebirth, retrenchment and renewal, and it is the form of leadership that leads to redirection and new directions.
"Do Good. Do Well"
Entrepreneurs display concern for the good of the larger society in their role, through good works, helping others or support of education, civic, social or charitable activities. They also display organizational or financial success ("do well") and achieve relative to those in their chosen setting.
About SLU Cook School of Business's Center for Entrepreneurship
The Center for Entrepreneurship has been a national leader in developing and delivering innovative programs to promote entrepreneurship through education. Our nationally-ranked programs promote economic growth by encompassing "Passion. Compassion. Planning. Performance."
The Center for Entrepreneurship programs are based upon partnerships between the Center and interested members of the community. Entrepreneurs and those who support entrepreneurship have contributed their time, insights, and financial supports to help the Center deliver an unprecedented range and quality of programs for a small center. The Center for Entrepreneurship is always eager to meet with individuals and organizations that share our vision of building a region of entrepreneurs and have interest in forming relationships to help make that happen.
The excellence of the Center for Entrepreneurship is tied to the tireless efforts of dedicated volunteers who help connect the Center to the community through delivering and expanding the diverse offerings of the Center. These include our Advisory Board, and also, more than 100 volunteers annually who work on our competitions, classes, and other programs to help build a region of entrepreneurs.
History of SLU Cook School of Business's Center for Entrepreneurship
Started in 1987, it is only the 23rd center to be established in the United States. Our Center is known for its innovative approach to entrepreneurship.
In 1994, the Center was the winner of national model program award by United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and Center Director Bob Brockhaus was one of the few academics attending the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business as an elected delegate.
This pattern of achievement continued, and continued to receive national recognition. In 2006, the Center received the Outstanding Contributions to Advance the Discipline of Entrepreneurship Award from the National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (NCEC). Along the way the Center and its staff have won over a dozen awards for excellence in education and service to the entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship organizations, and communities.
The academic program the Center supports has received similar accolades, with national top-tier rankings every year since 1994. The Entrepreneurship Program holds top-tier rankings from Fortune Small Business for its undergraduate program and from US News & World Reports for both the MBA and undergraduate programs. The Center, the program and its staff are the most honored in the state of Missouri, and among the most honored in the nation.