Princeton review ranks UNC no. 1 in entrepreneurship

UNC could be home to the next big business success, with future alumni potentially joining the ranks of Bill Gates, Henry Ford and Ray Kroc as entrepreneurial greats.

Forbes magazine recently published a study conducted by the Princeton Review that ranked UNC the Most Entrepreneurial Campus in the nation. The ranking compared 357 colleges and universities and weighed factors including courses of study and prominent alumni.

In the past few years, the University has made a concentrated effort to increase entrepreneurial efforts on campus.

UNC recently received a $3.5 million grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Kauffman Campus initiative has increased opportunities for business-minded students through the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative.

The University is matching the grant in an effort to further foster entrepreneurship. The CEI program expects to spend $11 million in the next five years, officials said.

Jeff Reid, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, said a combination of the grant and a long-standing commitment to entrepreneurship are reasons for UNC's No. 1 status.

Buck Goldstein, University entrepreneur-in-residence, said there are several factors that set UNC above other colleges in entrepreneurship.

Pairing entrepreneurship with academics is a key ingredient, he said. Another aspect is the broad definition of entrepreneurship at UNC, which includes social, artistic and commercial endeavors.

Goldstein stressed the campuswide mandate for entrepreneurship initiatives.

"We're interested in everything from chemistry students to political science students to music majors," he said.

John Kasarda, director of the entrepreneurial program at UNC, said that the University is committed to excellence in all of its endeavors and that the ranking in entrepreneurship testifies to that.

"This involves everything from business basics to the nuances of entrepreneurship," he said.

It teaches participants to sell gratefully, to analyze risks and to leverage their knowledge in other disciplines.

Reid said he was thrilled to hear the news of the ranking.

"It feels great to be recognized," he said. "It feels great to be number one in the nation."

Randy Myer, an entrepreneur and professor at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, said the ranking is not just a reflection of the business community at UNC, but of the University as a whole.

"We give students, faculty and professors a chance to realize their dreams," he said. "We are trying to bed entrepreneurship in the University community."

Although the ranking is beneficial, it is not the pinnacle of entrepreneurial studies at UNC, Reid said.

"We're only just beginning to build CEI," he said. "We left room to grow in the future. We're trying to stay ahead of other schools and give our students the best opportunities possible."

Myer said there is a lot of potential for the University as a whole if officials capitalize on the Princeton Review ranking.

"A lot depends on how we market these results," he said. "We have a chance to build bonds with potential students and potential entrepreneurs."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.