By Clara Lincicome | Reporter
Baylor’s entrepreneurship program was, for the 12th consecutive year, named among the nation’s top 10.
Dr. David Scheaf, assistant professor of business, entrepreneurship and corporate innovation, said he believes that the program’s history is part of what sets Baylor’s entrepreneurship program apart from others across the nation.
The history of the program extends back to the late 1970s when “Baylor became one of the first universities in the nation to create a Center for Entrepreneurship.”
“Baylor has been among the leaders of the country to offer entrepreneurship courses and majors and minors and have these different programs we have included at the business school,” Scheaf said. “It goes back to that history.”
Scheaf also pointed out that tradition has played a role in the program’s success.
“I think tradition is a huge factor here, a tradition of engaging with entrepreneurship as far as an academic pursuit,” Scheaf said. “That sets a foundation, of where people are interested in and faculty are doing work in, it draws resources into different initiatives.”
Outside of the classroom, the Baylor entrepreneurship program offers community outreach programs, brings in guest speakers and engages with the Waco community and business leaders within Central Texas.
“They work in a cohesive way to give an enriching experience to our students so they can go learn something in class, then go pop over to something that is going on with our programs or initiatives and see them in action,” Scheaf said. “It’s easy to take for granted, all the activities we have that are associated with our department, that’s just not common.”
Scheaf said he has been able to learn from his students, particularly because the courses were designed with engagement at the center of it all.
“I’m hoping that they bring in their experiences and their knowledge to help facilitate the classroom environment,” Scheaf said. “And usually when that happens and they’re engaged, and usually Baylor students are, I tend to learn a lot from them about things I never even considered before.”
Sunnyvale sophomore Landry Hunter is new to the entrepreneurship program and said she has appreciated that the courses are collaborative and creative.
“I’ve always wanted to create my own business, and this program is helping me excel in that way,” Hunter said. “I’m really excited to dive deeper and learn more about that so I can do it on a much larger scale.”
Scheaf said that Baylor students are genuinely curious and bright. “They want to learn,” he said.
The Woodlands sophomore Nick Madincea, the CEO of the new Baylor Entrepreneurship Club, has plans to offer further involvement and interaction within the department.
“Our mission at Baylor Entrepreneurship Club is to empower our students to be involved in the entrepreneurial process,” Madincea said. “Whether that is with a commercial start-up, a non for profit or a church.”
The Baylor Entrepreneurship Club was founded on three core ideas of being a Christian, action-focused and interdisciplinary organization.
“Our vision for this club is that it’s a lot more than a club,” Madincea said. “Our vision is that as Baylor expands and strives to become the world’s premiere, Tier 1, Christian institution, that we can commercialize the technology that we are producing here.”
Anyone is welcome to join Baylor Entrepreneurship Club because “entrepreneurial skills are valuable to you regardless of your major,” Madincea said.
Students can connect with the club by following @baylor_bec on Instagram.
As for the future of Baylor entrepreneurship, “the program is continuing to find avenues where we can have direct application of the knowledge, skills and techniques that we teach in the classroom, in a feasible way to real life application,” Scheaf said.
