US Midwest

Indiana Wesleyan University

University and Program Overview

Indiana WesleyanUniversity is a Christ-centered academic community committed to changing the world by developing students in character, scholarship, and leadership. Within the state of Indiana, Indiana Wesleyan University has become the fastest growing university and the second largest private university. IWU has modeled the entrepreneurial spirit in innovative programs, such as its highly successful Adult Professional Studies program, the Center for Life Calling and Leadership, and the College of Arts and Sciences’ first-year college experience. The Entrepreneurship Program at IndianaWesleyanUniversity was established in 2005. The main focus of the program is to train students from a Christian worldview to be entrepreneurial by starting a business; by being innovative and creative in an existing business, and in their community, in government, and in non-profit organizations. It is the desire of the faculty and staff to equip young entrepreneurs to meet the entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities in the U.S and around the world.

Organization

Located in the Division of Business, the program offers an undergraduate major (B.S. in Entrepreneurship) with five required courses of fifteen hours in Entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship major also includes a thirty six hour common core of business courses in accounting, economics, ethics, marketing, management, and strategic management. The Division of Business has a staff of six full-time faculty, three part-time faculty, a division secretary and one student assistant.

Personnel within the Division include Dr. Harriet Rojas, Associate Professor and Chairman of the Division of Business; Dr. Phillip Millage, Professor; Jerry Showalter, CPA, Associate Professor; Dr. Jack Wheeler, Professor; Dr. Keith Starcher Associate Professor; Debbie Philpott Instructor; Lisa Nieman Insturctor; Peter Rhetts Assistant Professor and

Kent Williams, CPA, Assistant Professor and Sharon Blankenship, Division Secretary.

Outreach/Practical Experience

SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) The Division of Business offers business students the opportunity to change their world by practicing free enterprise principles in their communities. Each year Dr. Harriet Rojas, SIFE’s Sam Walton Fellow at IWU, organizes students into SIFE teams and teaches them entrepreneurial concepts through educational outreach projects in the surrounding communities.

IWU.BIZ is a double storefront in the student mall where business students compete each year to participate in the experience of starting a business. In the fall, groups of students develop an entrepreneurial idea, expand it into a full business plan, and then market their concept. Based on these concepts, up to two plans are selected each year, with new businesses beginning in the fall. Students receive credit in collaboration with the Business Department, as well as stipends and access to startup loans for their business. In this way, IWU.BIZ complements classroom theory while offering valuable hands-on experience for students.

Curriculum ~ The Entrepreneurship Major consists of the following courses:

The following courses are specifically designed for the Entrepreneurship major:

MNG324 Small Business Management: Students are introduced to the fundamentals of small-business management. BUS340 Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation: Students study the development and management of an entrepreneurial organization including pre-startup, startup, survival, growth and the transition from entrepreneurial to professional management.          BUS341 Organizational Intrapreneurship: Students examine the intrapreneurial process, identifying opportunities, and building the intrapreneurial foundation. Students work with for-profit and/or non-profit organizations in identifying creative and innovative ideas and developing an intrapreneurial plan. BUS455 Entrepreneurial Planning and Strategy: Students develop and present an in-depth entrepreneurial for-profit or non-profit business plan, or an intrapreneurial plan for a for-profit or non-profit organization.

Students also choose from one of the three following courses: BUS382 Business Administration Practicum: Students gain practical experience while working for a business in a position related to their field of study.; BUS399 Service Learning: Students gain practical experience while serving in a for-profit or non-profit; or BUS390 International Business: Students focus on business decisions and strategies needed to transact business in a foreign land.

For More Information

The Entrepreneurship Program, Indiana Wesleyan University, Division of Business, Marion, IN  46953; Fax (765) 677-2524; Kent Williams, CPA, Assistant Professor (765) 677-2304; Email: Kent.Williams@indwes.edu; Web site: http://www.cas.indwes.edu/Business