TAMPA — The Lowth Entrepreneurship Center in The University of Tampa’s Sykes College of Business, has been awarded the NASDAQ Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC). The award was presented this past weekend at GCEC’s annual conference in Nova Scotia.
The NASDAQ Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence award represents the highest honor that a university entrepreneurship center can receive. The award was created by NASDAQ in association with GCEC to honor those centers that have made and will continue to make enormous contributions in advancing entrepreneurship as the force in economic growth throughout the world. The honor is bestowed upon entrepreneurship centers that have made remarkable advancements in the entrepreneurial field in the following areas:
- Entrepreneurship research;
- Outreach to emerging ventures;
- Entrepreneurship curriculum;
- Community collaborations;
- Special projects; and,
- Overall prestige and recognition in the entrepreneurship field.
Rebecca White, director of the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center and James W. Walter distinguished chair of entrepreneurship, said this award highlights the success of UT’s students, staff, faculty and alumni, and is an exciting outcome for all of the business community volunteers who regularly coach and mentor students in the Lowth Center.
“This award is arguably the most coveted award among entrepreneurship centers in the United States,” White said. “To be recognized by not only our peers but also NASDAQ as offering a pioneering program that is leading the way for innovative experiential educational in higher education is a thrill for us all.”
Other universities that have won the award include University of California-Berkeley, MIT, University of Arizona, University of Southern California, Baylor University, Rice University, Oklahoma State University, University of Maryland and Syracuse University.
UT’s recognition comes less than a year after the center was recognized as the National Model Program Award for undergraduate entrepreneurship programs by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship® (USASBE). In 2015, the center was awarded the Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation Award by the GCEC.
The Lowth Center is located within the Daly Innovation and Collaboration Building at UT. The space is creatively designed to bring together prospective student entrepreneurs, educators and experienced executives to generate, define and develop entrepreneurial concepts and to launch new ventures.
UT’s entrepreneurship major is one of the largest on campus and provides students with skills that are critical for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur or think like one.
For more information, see the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center website atwww.ut.edu/entrepreneurcenter.
GCEC is the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together 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.
The University of Tampa is a private, residential university located on 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. Known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs, the University serves approximately 9,000 students from 50 states and 140 countries. Approximately 65 percent of full-time students live on campus, and more than half of UT students are from Florida.
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