Bloch in Top 25 Entrepreneurial Schools Nationwide

Release Date: Oct 19, 2009

View the Entrepreneur Magazine ranking reprint here!

Watch the video from the Sept. 22 event here!

Kansas City, MO (September 22, 2009) – Surpassing more than 2,300 schools surveyed by The Princeton Review, The UMKC Bloch School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (IEI) was recognized as having one of the top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the country.  This marks the first time Bloch has been ranked in the top tier of entrepreneurial colleges and business schools. The announcement was made by UMKC Chancellor Morton at a special event today.

The seventh annual ranking reveals the nation’s top 25 graduate and top 25 undergraduate programs for entrepreneurship. Bloch’s ranking can be seen at www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges, along with information on overall trends found with social and sustainable entrepreneurship, experiential learning, and entrepreneurship as a means of reaching out both internationally and locally. 

“IEI has one of the largest and highest quality entrepreneurship faculties in the world,” notes Dr. Michael Song, executive director of the Institute and the world’s No. 1 scholar for innovation management. “We continue to develop new paradigms for entrepreneurship research and education, creating models others will follow.”

The IEI program was evaluated based on key criteria in the areas of academics and requirements, students and faculty, and outside-the-classroom experiences. Amy Cosper, VP/editor in chief at Entrepreneur, says “Each school that made the list demonstrates excellence in one or more areas—areas including course offerings, the success of students post-graduation and sponsored mentorship programs. Inclusion in this ranking solidifies this program’s place in an elite category of institutions offering a superlative level of education and preparedness the will play a key role in ensuring the success of tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.”

“The importance of this accomplishment is more than just the ranking. What the Bloch School and UMKC are doing is creating the next generation of entrepreneurs,” says Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block and Bloch School benefactor. “We must finish what we’ve started. Now is the perfect time to support the Institute and the Bloch School and help propel their work in entrepreneurship and innovation to the highest levels of excellence.” 

The joint efforts of The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur bring together The Princeton Review's renowned expertise in research and education with Entrepreneur’s in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs in a tough economic climate. 

As stated in the “Time to Get it Right: A Strategy for Higher Education in Kansas City” report, The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation recommended that “[UMKC should] build areas of excellence and promise with the aim of having several programs in the top 25 nationally.

“UMKC is getting it right,” says UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton.” This ranking goes beyond the Institute, the Bloch School and UMKC. It is proof that Kansas City is truly an entrepreneurial city, and UMKC is poised for excellence in the education of the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.”

“Regardless of whether you start a business or go to work for an existing organization, you must think like an entrepreneur and bring innovation to the table to survive in a very global and variable economy,” adds new Bloch School Dean Dr. Teng-Kee Tan.

“Bloch is a business school with an entrepreneurial focus strategy, and we are now one step closer to realizing the Kansas City community’s aspiration to have a world-class preeminent business school. This ranking is an entry point into a tier of excellence of which we are very proud, but the best is yet to come.”

About the UMKC Bloch School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (IEI) at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Bloch School of Business and Public Administration inspires and nurtures entrepreneurs and innovators through transformational education and research university-wide. IEI’s vision is to be a global leader in creating and disseminating knowledge to advance entrepreneurship and innovation. IEI supports the Bloch School’s strategic focus in entrepreneurship and innovation across all disciplines, providing entrepreneurship education at undergraduate, graduate, executive and doctoral levels.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review (Nasdaq: REVU) is a pioneer in the world of education. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, the Company offers private tutoring and classroom and online test preparation to help students improve their scores in college and graduate school admissions tests. The company's website helps students research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for their higher education, and helps hundreds of colleges and universities streamline their admissions and recruiting activities. 

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