The TCU Neeley School of Business was honored by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers as one of the best entrepreneurship programs in the world, becoming the first university to win a major award from the prestigious group three years in a row.
October 20, 2021
By Erin Smutz
The TCU Neeley Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation built on its excellence this fall, receiving top honors in the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Awards for best entrepreneurship programs and becoming the first university to receive a major award three years running.
The institute won the 2021 Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines Award for its exemplary excellence in creating, advancing and enabling entrepreneurial education opportunities to a diverse set of stakeholders across campus.
Out of 89 submissions from 66 universities around the world, the institute’s collaborative outreach and cross-campus initiatives stood out among other entrepreneurship programs.
“The annual GCEC Awards celebrate the best in entrepreneurship education and programming worldwide. Each award category is reviewed by an expert panel of judges and clearly TCU is a top contender for their work across disciplines,” said Holly DeArmond, chair of the GCEC Awards and managing director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
From hands-on, cross-campus initiatives for students such as CREATE – Powered by the Shaddock Seed Fund and Ventures Builders to faculty-focused, cross-disciplinary endeavors such as GUILD, the institute champions innovation across TCU to support entrepreneurial excellence for all.
“Our goal is to support and reward big-picture thinking and encourage students and faculty to adopt an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Rodney D’Souza, the Davis Family Entrepreneur in Residence and managing director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “Through our many cross-campus, co-curricular programs, we’re empowering students and faculty across TCU to look at the world through a different lens and use innovation to solve problems for the greater good.”
This is the third year in a row for TCU Neeley to win a prestigious award from GCEC. In 2020, the institute won the Outstanding Contribution to Venture Creation Award for the Values and Ventures program for creatively supporting the process of launching and accelerating student startups. In 2019, the institute won the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation Award for the Cowtown Angels Fellows program.
“At a time when the world needs innovation more than ever, it’s exciting to see the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the TCU Neeley School of Business once again shine on the global stage. This year’s award recognizes our excellence in collaboration across disciplines, which a hallmark of TCU’s connection culture and is exactly what is required of leaders today who must generate results by working and celebrating a diversity of perspectives, experiences and ideas,” said Daniel Pullin, the John V. Roach Dean of the TCU Neeley School of Business.
GCEC is the premier academic organization for 250 university-based entrepreneurship programs globally. It encourages established and emerging programs to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening and celebrating the role of universities in teaching the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
