Conferences

  		 
Summary of USASBE 13th Annual Meeting (1998) in Clearwater, Florida

by Lynn Neeley, Program Chair

Two hundred and fifty-five people attended the 13th Annual USASBE Conference held in Clearwater, Florida on January 15 through 18, 1998. Excitement and energy characterized the gathering which began with a reception showcasing a variety of entrepreneurship programs through interactive sessions.

Dr. Arnold Cooper, the Louis A. Weil, Jr. Professor of Management from the Krannert Graduate School of Management at Purdue University, presented the White Paper at the plenary session. Dr. Cooper's presentation of "Entrepreneurship: The Past, The Present, The Future," received one of the highest ratings of any of the 53 sessions included in the conference. Attendees also had the opportunity to hear John E. Hughes, Chairman of the Board of The Coleman Foundation; and Rebecca Smith, President of the A. D. Morgan Construction Corporation, as luncheon speakers on Friday and Saturday respectively.

The three day conference featured 37 Competitive Paper Sessions, 16 Symposia, 11 Panel/Workshops, and four National Awards Competitions. Two awards recognized the most outstanding research manuscripts submitted while superlative pedagogy was acknowledged with four awards.

Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice sponsored the Best Conceptual Paper award which went to Theodore T. Herbert and Deborah V . Brazeal for "The Future of the Corporation: Corporate Entrepreneurship on the Fly." Anisya S. Thomas and Stephen L. Mueller won the Best Empirical Paper Award, sponsored by the Coleman Foundation, with "Are Entrepreneurs the Same Across Cultures?"

The USASBE Entrepreneurship Education Division gave four awards for the best programs and innovation. The Undergraduate Program award winner was Kennesaw State University's Department of Management and Entrepreneurship which was represented by Kenneth Robinson; the Masters Program award winner, Ball State University's Department of Management which was represented by Donald F. Kuratko; the Ph.D. Program award winner, the University of Georgia's Department of Management which was represented by Charles Hofer; the Pedagogical Innovation award winner, George Washington University's World Wide Web Research Project from the Department of Management Science which was represented by Charles Toftoy.

I look forward to seeing you in 1999 at the USASBE 14th Annual National Conference in San Diego, January 14 through 17. Please contact Dr. Scott Kunkel, Program Chair, for further information about the San Diego conference. (P 619-260-2376; F 619-260-4891; e-mail: kunkel@acusd.edu)

For information on purchasing additional copies of the USASBE 1998 Conference Proceedings, contact USASBE Executive Director Joan Gillman. (P 608-262-9982; F 608-263-0818)