GCEC Announces 2022 Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award

Friday, November 4, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

GCEC Announces 2022 Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award

Iowa State University Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship receives highest honor presented during GCEC conference.

AMES, Iowa (November 4, 2022) – The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) announced Iowa State University Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship as the winner of the 2022 Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, the highest honor presented during the 2022 GCEC Awards. The announcement was made on October 29 as part of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) annual conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

The Nasdaq Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award has traditionally recognized a single program each year but was expanded in 2021 to recognize the best from a university with less than 5,000 students and the best from one with more than 5,000. This year’s winners included Babson College, The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship (less than 5,000 students), and Iowa State University, Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship (more than 5,000 students). Iowa State was also recognized as a finalist for the Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines Award.

“Although this is an entrepreneurship center award, everyone at Iowa State University should celebrate this recognition. Our cross-campus, comprehensive programs to educate and support entrepreneurs of all kinds are truly unique. Those who have worked previously at the Pappajohn Center and the dynamic and hard-working team here today helped us to achieve this significant award. We are honored and delighted!” said Judi Eyles, Director of the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship.

Pappajohn Center staff accept GCEC award

Left to right: Alex Andrade, Judi Eyles, and Megan Graettinger.

The GCEC is made up of more than 250 leading university entrepreneurship programs working together not only to share best practices and develop programs and initiatives but also to collaborate and help each other advance, strengthen and celebrate the role universities fulfill in educating the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business in Houston is the global headquarters for the GCEC.

The Troesh Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) hosted more than 550 leaders from universities worldwide on October 27-29 for nearly 100 breakout sessions and three keynote addresses. At the close of the conference, 14 universities were awarded top honors in nine categories. The 128 award nominations broke a record for the program.

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About GCEC

The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) was established in 1997 for the purpose of becoming the key junction for university-based entrepreneurship centers across the U.S. to collaborate, communicate, and jointly advance excellence in entrepreneurship through the unique role and position of the centers in the academic and business communities. Today, GCEC is the premier leadership organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the industry vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together to share information, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening, and celebrating the contributions and impact of individual centers–as well as the overall role of university-based entrepreneurship center. For more information, visit the GCEC website at www.globalentrepreneurshipconsortium.org/ or contact GCEC Executive Director Holly Dearmond at holly.deArmond@rice.edu. 

About ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship

The ISU John Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, part of the Ivy College of Business and the Office of Economic Development and Industry Relations, offers numerous programs and services that broadly reach and connect students, community entrepreneurs, business professionals, and alumni. The Center has two primary objectives: 1) to create a culture that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, 2) to provide the tools necessary for building and improving Iowa’s businesses. Outreach efforts are designed to help individuals recognize opportunities, gain skills and experiences to take advantage of opportunities, and connect with the right resources and support to launch a successful business. For more information, visit isupjcenter.org

Contact:

Judi Eyles, ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, 515-296-6754, eyles@iastate.edu

ISU Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship │1805 Collaboration Pl, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010