RICHARDSON, Texas (March 7, 2003) -The study of entrepreneurship, once the purview of only business school students, soon will become the focus of college students in a broad range of academic disciplines at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).

The result, believes the UTD faculty member largely responsible for the shift, will be college graduates with a wider range of skills needed for success in a fast-changing work environment.

Dr. Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, associate dean for undergraduate education and associate professor of economics in UTD’s School of Social Sciences, has won a $50,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City to implement an innovative program designed to incorporate the study of entrepreneurship into the university’s curriculum, thus exposing students in all of UTD’s seven schools to that field of study.

The grant is one of 52, totaling $2.3 million, awarded recently by the Kauffman Foundation to professors at colleges and universities throughout the United States to encourage entrepreneurship education on those campuses. Grant recipients were selected from more than 300 applicants.

“Entrepreneurship programs traditionally lie in business schools and miss the opportunity to serve a much larger student population that would benefit by obtaining entrepreneurial skills and education,” said Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres. “To be successful, individuals in all walks of life must first recognize opportunities and then be able to capitalize on them. That’s what entrepreneurship is all about, and that’s the mindset we’ll be trying to engender in students at UTD.”

Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres’ effort involves a three-step approach:

  • Beginning this summer, increase awareness among faculty and others of the new emphasis on entrepreneurship at UTD and survey similar programs at other universities.
  • Starting next fall, provide development opportunities to an interdisciplinary team of five faculty members who will compile curricular materials and help develop courses.
  • In the fall semester of 2004, offer a two-course sequence in entrepreneurship to undergraduate students. A year later, offer another two-course sequence to graduate students.

The first of the two courses will be seminar style and team-taught by faculty from five disciplines – sociology, public administration, government, geographic information systems and urban planning. The second offering, a “capstone” course, will be taught in part by an entrepreneur and will require students to develop an entrepreneurial plan to establish new businesses or products.

The new courses will offer three hours each of elective credit, or a total of six hours for the two-course sequence.

In addition to the new, interdisciplinary courses, Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres expects faculty members throughout the university will integrate entrepreneurship lessons in both existing and new disciplinary courses.

“It is my hope and my belief that this new, formal focus on entrepreneurship will be embraced by faculty, staff and students across the university, broadening students’ learning experience,” said Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres.

Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres joined the UTD faculty in 1996. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. She has a Ph.D. degree in economics from Duke University, an M.A. degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a B.A. degree in economics from Texas A&M University.

About the Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City works with partners to encourage entreprenuership across America and improve the education of children and youth. The Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman. More information about the Kauffman Foundation is available at http://www.emkf.org/.

About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 13,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s Web site at http://www.utdallas.edu/.