Experiences of Successful Center Directors - Baylor University

success factors and the barriers to growth. He did this in response to the overwhelming
number of requests he received for help in starting a program or center.
Thirteen years later, it is still relevant. It is also thought-provoking. Many of
the concerns Don expressed concerning perceived legitimacy of the field still
exist. A January 24, 1997 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education 2 reveals
the same problems in the field of entrepreneurship that Don identified years ago,
including distrust by our colleagues concerning the relevancy of entrepreneurship
education, the reluctance of tenure track faculty to jeopardize their future by
researching and teaching in this area and the lack of acceptance of entrepreneurship
research by top-tiered journals.
What steps are we, as scholars in this field, to take to legitimize our endeavors?
While we may scoff at academia and ensure our positions through explosive
demand of our courses and our outreach, do we have an obligation to go further?
Do we have an obligation to bring entrepreneurship to the table? In most universities,
the programs are not involved in the mainstream, therefore, entrepreneurship
is not represented at meetings of associate deans or chairmen. Entrepreneurship
is not considered during budget decisions or during curriculum revisions.
A few schools are changing this. Schools are attempting to integrate entrepreneurship
across disciplines and across campuses. You will read of their efforts
and the problems they are encountering. As you go about developing your program,
I would urge that you form a team in your university or college of people
who see entrepreneurship not just as a stand-alone course, concentration or
major, but as a lifelong learning style from which every student can benefit.
1
Vesper, K. (1993). Entrepreneurship Education 1993, Los Angeles: Entrepreneurial Studies Center, UCLA.
2
Mangan, K.S. (January 24, 1997). Many business schools add classes on entrepreneurship. The Chronicle of
Higher Education p. A9-A10.
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