Business School dressed for 'Success'

Magazine ranks IU top drawer for entrepreneurs

By George Vlahakis

It's something that Indiana entrepreneurs have known for years, but now the rest of the nation knows it, too.

Indiana University, often ranked highly among schools of business, was named among the nation's top 25 schools for entrepreneurs by Success magazine in this month's issue.

Dalton
Dalton

"I couldn't be more pleased," said Dan Dalton, dean of the IU School of Business. "Our faculty and staff have been teaching entrepreneurial students and helping them build businesses for years. This national recognition confirms the quality of that effort."

The magazine lists the top 25 schools in alphabetical order and does not rank them within the list. For the last two years, IU was listed in the magazine's "Schools to Look Out For" section. IU is the only Indiana higher education institution in the top 25 and one of only seven institutions in the Midwest to be included on the list.

"This ranking informs the nation's business community that Indiana University is one of the finest places to start an entrepreneurial career," Dalton said.

According to the magazine editors:"Many MBA programs have gone into overdrive to improve their entrepreneurship offerings -- strengthening their faculty, curricula and support systems for students." IU "surged from last year's list of up-and-coming schools and into the top 25 after boosting the support systems for students at its Bloomington campus," the article says.

Graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurial students at IU participate in a number of extracurricular programs sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CEI). One program, the Entrepreneurial Seminars, brings a series of practicing entrepreneurs to campus for formal presentations and individual meetings with students.

"I'd like to thank CEI for creating and sustaining such well-received programs to broaden our outstanding curriculum," Dalton said. "Our students appreciate the variety of opportunities available."

The magazine rankings were completed in collaboration with Erdos & Morgan, an independent marketing and media research firm based in New York. Success surveyed 142 schools to find 72 schools offering at least three MBA courses in entrepreneurship.

The survey then measured five components of each program: the quality, longevity and resources of the school's entrepreneurship program; the qualifications of the entrepreneurship faculty; the depth and breadth of the entrepreneurship curriculum; special programs that connect students with the business community; and the caliber of students measured by GMAT scores, undergraduate GPAs and the percentage of students accepted.

IU offered its first course in entrepreneurship to students enrolled in its master of business administration (MBA) program in 1958, when William L. Haeberle, now emeritus professor of management and CEI senior fellow, began his teaching career. The MBA curriculum now offers a major and a minor in entrepreneurship as part of its management concentration. Undergraduates may complete a concentration in entrepreneurship as part of a management major.

"Few people know that we're one of only two schools in the country offering a class in turn-around management," Dalton said. "Our academy structure, including the Entrepreneurship Academy, is unique in the nation. Students can take a class in 'How to Buy a Business,' or several classes to learn about building one from an idea. Our entrepreneurship curriculum is outstanding."

De Hayes

Daniel W. DeHayes, CEI director and professor of management, added that IU's program "is built on the premise that if you're going to be teaching entrepreneurship, you'd better be doing it and doing it well. IU entrepreneurship faculty members focus on helping build businesses created by our students and others in the Midwest."