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Entrepreneurship Program Garners Six-Figure Support from Two Foundations
(August 3, 2009) -- With crucial support from the Coleman Foundation and the
Will J. Reid Foundation, the SOM will extend the opportunities offered through its nationally acclaimed
Entrepreneurship Program into the undergraduate college, the non-business Simmons community, and to local
community college entrepreneurship efforts. Founded in 2005 as a certificate-only offering to MBA-trained
women, the curriculum expanded into a full-fledged program in 2007.
The Coleman Foundation has pledged $93,000 over two years, and the Will J. Reid Foundation has pledged
$51,000 over two years.
"Building partnerships between Simmons and organizations like the Reid and Coleman Foundation is one of the
most fulfilling parts of my job as Director of the Entrepreneurship Program at Simmons," said SOM Professor
Teresa Nelson. "The people behind those institutional names – Mike Hennessy and Clark McCain at the
Coleman Foundation and Elizabeth Moore Westbrook '80 at the Will J. Reid Foundation – really understand
who we are and what we are working to accomplish. They gave us the capital to access the tools to reach many
more women who each have that one great idea – that passion – to build and grow a viable,
community sustaining business or social enterprise."
The funds will be used to develop the following three initiatives: a minor and "mini-minor" in
entrepreneurship to all majors of Simmons College and the Colleges of the Fenway; co-curricular programming
with the non-business Simmons community; and networks with area community colleges through providing SOM
graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship student mentors to community college students.
Since its inception in 2005, the Entrepreneurship program has garnered national recognition and developed
groundbreaking initiatives. In 2006 and 2008 Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review named the program
as one of the top 25 entrepreneurship programs in the nation, among a set of 2,300 schools. It was recognized
by Fortune Small Business in 2006 as one of the 10 most innovative entrepreneur programs in the United
States.
The program has built a research program in entrepreneurship and gender/entrepreneurship that has national
and international reach, particularly on issues of women entrepreneurs and women's entrepreneurship
education. The program has developed a successful business plan competition for graduating MBA students and
alumnae, and in 2009 launched a post-Certificate support and mentoring program.
Alumnae of the program are generating real-world, proven successes. In the 2009 cohort, all 12 women are
building business plans they intend to actualize within the next three years; two have already launched their
ventures. The four-course sequenced program teaches business and professional skills to design, fund and
launch, sustainable, scalable ventures with impact. The curriculum is complemented by a range of
co-curricular activities including mentor pairing, a business plan competition, entrepreneur and scholar in
residence programs, and special events including speaker and lecture series.
The Coleman Foundation was a key partner in the program's 2005 launch, providing essential seed funding
through the Foundation's Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education project (2005-08). In 2007 the School began
to explore the potential to widen the reach of its entrepreneurship effort. As a result, the Entrepreneurship
Program was established, with the graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship as a core element.
For more information, visit www.simmons.edu/entrepreneurship.