ECU’s Miller School of Entrepreneurship continues national ranking
The Summer Innovation Academy annually welcomes middle and high school students who want to learn the basics of entrepreneurship from Miller School of Entrepreneurship instructors and mentors (ECU file photos taken pre-COVID-19)
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 Miller School is the only endowed school of entrepreneurship in North Carolina and ranks No. 47, marking its second year in a row on the list.
“We didn’t rest on our laurels after making last year’s list,” said Dr. Mike Harris, director, Miller School. “Our students and community have come to expect much from the Miller School. It’s because of them, we strive to be innovative and a go-to resource for today’s and tomorrow’s business leaders.”
“I am thrilled that ECU and the Miller School have been named to the Princeton Review Top 50 list for the second year in a row,” said Fielding Miller, CEO of Raleigh’s CAPTRUST, COB alumnus and ECU board of trustees member. “What Mike (Harris) and the team have accomplished in such a short span of time is truly remarkable. The Miller School has exceeded my expectations, and I could not be more pleased.”
Continuing to help regional transformation
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. The rural business accelerator focused on helping small businesses gain access to global markets with innovative products. The accelerator’s key components include e-commerce development, development of high-value offerings for niche markets, and export training.
The entrepreneurship degree program, now in its second year, has grown by 67%. It currently has 142 students, and Miller School officials say the program has exceeded forecast expectations. Additionally, the Entrepreneurship Certificate includes students from 26 different majors across the campus.
The student entrepreneurship program, RISE29, was honored for its co-curricular innovation by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) at its 2020 conference in New Orleans. The program also won the National Best Practices award at the 2020 Small Business Institute Conference. A strategic goal of RISE29 is to create a national model on how to use entrepreneurship as a catalyst for rural economic development.
Fielding Miller is CEO of Raleigh’s CAPTRUST, a COB alumnus and an ECU board of trustees member.
COVID restrictions did not hinder the Miller School’s annual activities. The Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge, North Carolina’s largest student-led entrepreneurship competition, went virtual earlier this year and continues to attract teams vying for $100,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. The third Summer Innovation Academy also went virtual, grew in enrollment and hosted students from six states.
As part of its mission to help transform rural North Carolina, Miller School students completed 32 projects for community businesses. This support saw students accumulating almost 13,000 fieldwork hours last year alone.
“Our entrepreneurial student and local businesses can take advantage of the value the Miller School provides,” Harris. “They’ll have access to one of the few colleges and entrepreneurship programs in the nation with an endowed school, center and innovation hub.”
Harris added the Miller School has helped launch 63 businesses over the past five years, which have raised almost $3.5 million in investment capital.
Throughout the calendar year, the Miller School and the ECU chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization hosts hackathons, sponsors the annual Hult Prize competition and provides mentorship to students and other companies who need guidance with turning their ideas into realities.
“Eastern North Carolina will only thrive if we can create good jobs in the region,” said Miller. “This program (Miller School) will be a great resource to develop our job creators of the future. Well done!”
About the List
The Princeton Review chose the schools for its 2021 undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship rankings based on surveys of schools conducted from June through August 2020. More than 300 schools reported data about their entrepreneurship offerings.
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