Springfield, Ohio - Wittenberg has been affirmed as an incubator for start-up success as per a recent Forbes’ ranking that lists the university among the Top 50 Most Entrepreneurial Colleges in the nation.
Entering at No. 46, Wittenberg joins Middlebury, Vassar, Colby, Smith, Amherst and Villanova in this distinction.
“Being in the top 50 is an example of how our approach to entrepreneurship does a great job preparing our grads with a great foundation for life as well as the skills and motivation needed for success as entrepreneurs,” said Thomas E. Kaplan, dean, School of Community Education, and Ness Chair in Entrepreneurship. “What I really like about the ranking is that it’s driven by external data and not merely measures of things we and other schools report about how great we are.”
According to Forbes’ website, the rankings were compiled using the total number of alumni and students who have identified themselves as founders and business owners on LinkedIn, which was then divided by the school’s student body - undergraduate and graduate combined. Also making the list were fellow North Coast Athletic Conference schools Ohio Wesleyan University, Denison University, DePauw University, Kenyon College and Oberlin College.
Wittenberg’s curriculum has included the courses below in different aspects of entrepreneurship. Each of these classes is designed to add value to students in any major.
- WITTSEM: Calling All Student Entrepreneurs: So You Want to Change the World? – This course is designed to channel the creative energy of students as they enter college. It explores the efforts of student entrepreneurs around the world in every possible context, celebrating their successes as well as their failures.
- Entrepreneurship - This introductory course serves as a starting point for understanding and practicing entrepreneurship. The course looks at entrepreneurial behavior at its best – in the context of for-profit ventures as well as its application in several other settings.
- Venture Creation - This course focuses on the process of transforming creative ideas into viable ventures. The skills gained are intended to benefit all students, regardless of the type of entity they seek to create.
- Leading the Family Enterprise - This course is designed to prepare students for positions of leadership within a family business – as an owner, manager, director and/or family leader. It explores family dynamics within and across generations and how these issues play out at various times in the family and business life cycle.
