ECU’s Miller School makes prestigious list three years in a row
For the third year in a row, the Miller School of Entrepreneurship in East Carolina University’s College of Business (COB) made the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine list of Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship.
The Isley Innovation Hub, located in the former Dowdy Student Store and now under construction, is set to open in early 2022. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
Based on a survey the education services company conducted in summer 2021 of nearly 300 schools with entrepreneurship offerings, The Princeton Review’s rankings took into account more than 40 data points about the schools.
The Miller School, the only endowed school of entrepreneurship in North Carolina, moved up from 47 to 46, a modest yet significant climb, said Dr. Mike Harris, director of the Miller School of Entrepreneurship.
“The Miller School has done some amazing things this past year, and while it’s an honor to get recognized, I truly believe it’s eastern North Carolina that benefits from all this hard work,” said Harris.
Transforming the region
Since 2015, the Miller School has implemented numerous programs that have served as a catalyst for regional transformation.
In September 2020, the Miller School’s Crisp Small Business Resource Center launched the Accelerate Rural NC program. Today, the program is in its fifth cohort and continues to help small businesses gain access to global markets by focusing on e-commerce strategies, the development of high-value offerings for niche markets and export training. More than 100 eastern North Carolina businesses have turned to the program since its inception.
The entrepreneurship degree program has grown by more than 176% since its inaugural class of 85. With 235 students, Miller School officials say the program has exceeded forecast expectations. Additionally, the entrepreneurship certificate program includes students from 33 majors across campus. Another significant campuswide effort from the Miller School has been the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge, which has featured more than 350 student-led teams from 50-plus majors during the past five years.
Recent accolades have also put the spotlight on the Miller School of Entrepreneurship. Earlier this year, the Miller School was awarded the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Model Emerging Program Award, which is given to colleges and universities with new or restructured entrepreneurship programs that show outstanding progress toward becoming comprehensive, bold and innovative educational programs. On Oct. 18, 2021, Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers awarded the Miller School the Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center award, which is the top international award for new entrepreneurship programs with more than 5,000 students.
Planning ahead
Next year should prove to be another busy year for the Miller School. It will co-host the annual USASBE conference in Raleigh. The final round of the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge will take place in April. And the Isley Innovation Hub is expected to open early in 2022. Thanks to a $2 million gift from Van and Jennifer Isley, the hub will give all ECU students a place to meet, collaborate and potentially create ideas for future businesses.
“With the entrepreneurial assets we have in place and the entrepreneurial enthusiasm across campus, we expect to continue to climb in the rankings. However, importantly, we are truly impacting our students and the region,” said Harris.