
About Us
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Message from the President
Welcome to the premier organization dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship through best practices and leading edge perspectives – the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE)!
USASBE is built around four pillars: education, research, outreach and public policy. Education includes best practices in the areas of pedagogy, curriculum and course design, course delivery, and the creation of related educational programs that support students and entrepreneurs. These are shared with members to enhance the delivery of entrepreneurship education in a broad cross-section of educational environments.
USASBE is an affiliate of the International Council of Small Business (ICSB), which has supported entrepreneurship educators and advocates around the globe for over fifty years.
Entrepreneurship research is our second keystone, and is concerned with the process of knowledge discovery as it relates to the creation and growth of innovative new ventures. We seek to encourage theoretical, conceptual and empirical research that informs entrepreneurial practice. Our research interests include entrepreneurial activity in start-up, early growth, corporate, non-profit, and public sector contexts.
The third pillar is outreach. It is concerned with engaging the entrepreneurial community in innovative ways through incubators, technology commercialization, service learning, student internships, angel networks, microcredit schemes, business plan competitions, and a host of other initiatives. USASBE is at the forefront in encouraging best practices in entrepreneurial engagement.
Our final pillar, public policy, begins with ongoing efforts to assess the impact of entrepreneurial activity in our communities, regions and nations. Beyond this, we seek to identify the regulatory, legislative and tax policies that discourage and encourage successful entrepreneurship, and to identify policy prescriptions that help fuel the ongoing entrepreneurial revolution.
We are facing difficult economic times around the globe. Entrepreneurship has proven to be the key to every past economic recovery. Our mission as entrepreneurship educators is more important than ever. We believe entrepreneurship represents the ultimate source of economic empowerment. Entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors are the keys to sustainable competitive advantage for individuals, organizations, communities, and counties. Yet, the ability to capitalize on this immense potential requires a richer understanding of the entrepreneur, the venture creation experience, and the environments within which entrepreneurs must operate. Such an understanding is only possible if we encourage rigorous scholarly activity and the sharing new, innovative perspectives on how to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs.
As a professional academic organization, USASBE plays a preeminent role in advancing the discipline of entrepreneurship. We do this by serving our members. Our value proposition includes:
- the USASBE Annual Conference
- subscriptions to Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and the Journal of Small Business Management as part of your membership
- the Entrepreneurship Syllabus Exchange
- our electronic and live career center
- the national awards program
- the USASBE newsletter, Liaison
- our website with materials to support entrepreneurship educators
- the USASBE special interest groups (SIGS) that interact with members on an ongoing basis regarding focused specialty areas within entrepreneurship, and
- the ongoing development of new initiatives that serve entrepreneurship educators.
We are an organization of colleagues who believe in sharing with and helping one another. I invite you to become a part of the USASBE family through participation in the association’s interest groups, use of the many resources we offer through our on-line services, and involvement with the USASBE 2011 Annual Conference to be held in Hilton Head, South Carolina from January 13 – 16, 2011.
All the best in your entrepreneurial pursuits,
Jeffrey R. Cornwall, DBA
President, USASBE
The Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship
Belmont University
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