Kelley receives top ranking globally for entrepreneurship research

Last week, the Kelley School of Business was ranked number one in the 2010 World Rankings for Entrepreneurship Productivity. It is the second consecutive year the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship has earned the top spot, chosen from over 150 schools worldwide.

“Research is the heart and soul of all our disciplines at the Kelley School,” said Dean of the Kelley School of Business Dan Smith in a press release.

The annual list is determined by the number of articles produced by the faculties of participating schools in all three major entrepreneurship journals: The Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice and Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal.

Donald F. Kuratko, the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship, said the entrepreneurship program at Kelley had nearly twice as many published articles as the school that was next in line.

“We probably have the largest faculty in the world, and I think this ranking proves, the most prolific as well,” Kuratko said.

Kuratko said in addition to faculty, innovations in class curriculum and out of the classroom around campus are what set IU apart.

“We have offices around the campus so we can develop entrepreneurial thinking in all programs,” Kuratko said. “We’re permeating through the whole campus, and that’s what makes us a world model.”

Kuratko listed the Hoosier Hatchery, which will soon be a home for student business in conjunction with the IU Innovation Center and Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, as well as the IDEA Competition, as examples of such outreach programs.

Involving entrepreneurship in various academic programs at IU, such as law, music, medicine, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and others, exemplify the program’s campus-wide initiatives, he said.

“No matter what their field of study is, no matter what their great interest is, students need to go forward with an innovative mindset,” Kuratko said.

— Lindsey Mohlman