Students at the University of Colorado
at Boulder’s Leeds School of Business
are at the forefront of business entrepreneurship
education, thanks to innovative partnerships
and programs offered through the school’s
nationally recognized center, the Robert
H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship.
CU-Boulder and the Leeds School of Business offer students unparalleled access to one of the country’s most robust, creative and diverse entrepreneurial environments, which has launched companies including Celestial Seasonings, Izze Beverage Co., Aurora Organic Dairy, Crocs Inc., Blue Sun Biodiesel, Rock Bottom Restaurants and others.
The region also is home to a growing network of companies specializing in renewable energy and clean technologies, boosted by the university’s proximity to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo., and the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, both in Boulder.
A focus of the center is its Sustainable Venturing Initiative, which won the 2006 Award for Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education from the National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers. Created in 2005, its goal is to turn fresh ideas into sustainable business opportunities by educating students, supporting innovation and showcasing cutting-edge research.
In March 2007, the center hosted its 2nd annual Cleantech Challenge, an international student competition showcasing business plans for clean technology aimed at reducing environmental impacts and improving ecological sustainability. The initiative garnered national attention by winning the 2006 Award for Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education from the National Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers.
The CU-Boulder entrepreneurial program’s strength is no secret. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs are consistently ranked among the nation’s top programs, the graduate program ranking 17th and the undergraduate program 18th in the U.S. News & World Report 2007 editions. And in March 2006, Fortune Small Business and CNNMoney.com named CU-Boulder one of 10 “Hot Spots” for entrepreneurial education, citing the school as a leader in “green” entrepreneurship.
