The TCU Neeley Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation received top honors at last week’s Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Awards for best entrepreneurship programs—becoming the first university to receive a major GCEC award three years in a row.

The institute won the 2021 Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines Award “for its exemplary excellence in creating, advancing and enabling entrepreneurial education opportunities to a diverse set of stakeholders across campus.”

Out of 89 submissions from 66 universities worldwide, Neeley’s collaborative outreach and cross-campus initiatives was rated the highest by the GCEC.

A top contender “across disciplines”

“The annual GCEC Awards celebrate the best in entrepreneurship education and programming worldwide. Each award category is reviewed by an expert panel of judges and clearly TCU is a top contender for their work across disciplines,” said Holly DeArmond, chair of the GCEC Awards, in a statement.

Initiatives included CREATE and Ventures Buildings

Neeley was cited by GCEC for its hands-on, cross-campus initiatives for students including CREATE – Powered by the Shaddock Seed Fund and Ventures Builders. Faculty-focused, cross-disciplinary endeavors including GUILD were also recognized.

“Our goal is to support and reward big-picture thinking and encourage students and faculty to adopt an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Rodney D’Souza, the Davis Family Entrepreneur in Residence and managing director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, in the statement.

“Through our many cross-campus, co-curricular programs, we’re empowering students and faculty across TCU to look at the world through a different lens and use innovation to solve problems for the greater good,” D’Souza added.

Third year in a row winning a prestigious GCEC award

This marks a three-year trifecta  for the TCU Neeley School at GCEC. In 2020, the institute won the Outstanding Contribution to Venture Creation Award for the Values and Ventures program for creatively supporting the process of launching and accelerating student startups. In 2019, the institute won the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation Award for the Cowtown Angels Fellows program.

Dallas Innovates wrote about the launch of the Neeley Institute back in 2018. At the time, D’Souza said “The institute is designed to intentionally empower students from every school on TCU’s campus to discover, build on, and achieve their entrepreneurial dreams.”

“At a time when the world needs innovation more than ever, it’s exciting to see the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the TCU Neeley School of Business once again shine on the global stage,” said Daniel Pullin, the John V. Roach Dean of the TCU Neeley School of Business, in the statement.

“This year’s award recognizes our excellence in collaboration across disciplines, which is a hallmark of TCU’s connection culture and is exactly what is required of leaders today who must generate results by working and celebrating a diversity of perspectives, experiences and ideas,” Pullin added.

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