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K-State Today

September 26, 2012

College of Business Administration Professional Development series looks at entrepreneurship and innovation

Submitted by Communications and Marketing

Donald F. Kuratko

A leading entrepreneurism expert will be the speaker for the first presentation in the Fall 2012 Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovations Series, a part of the College of Business Administration's Professional Education Seminars at Kansas State University Olathe.

Donald F. Kuratko, who is known as "Dr. K" in the field of entrepreneurism, will present "Entrepreneurial Leadership: Today's Challenge" from 8 a.m. to noon at the International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute on the K-State Olathe campus, 22201 W. Innovation Drive, Olathe.

Kuratko is the Jack M. Gill distinguished chair of entrepreneurship, professor of entrepreneurship and executive and academic director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University-Bloomington.

"We are thrilled to be starting this Professional Education Series in cooperation with K-State Olathe and as a service to our alumni and friends to enhance the leadership and business knowledge of professionals on applied business concepts. We are committed to business education from high school to the boardroom, and look forward to becoming a reference of executive education in the Kansas City area," said Ali Malekzadeh, Edgerley family dean of the College of Business Administration.

"Dr. K is dynamic speaker and a national authority on corporate entrepreneurship and innovation," said Jeffrey Hornsby, Jack Vanier chair of entrepreneurship and innovation, professor of management and director of the Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship at Kansas State University. "From emerging firms to fortune 500 companies, his high-energy talks on creating entrepreneurial and innovative corporate cultures are in great demand. Anyone who desires a more creative, innovative and entrepreneurial organization stands to learn from his insight and expertise."

Kuratko is considered a prominent scholar and national leader in the field of entrepreneurship authoring or co-authoring more than 180 articles on aspects of entrepreneurship and corporate innovation in journals such as Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Operations Management and Journal of Small Business Management. He has also authored 30 books, including one of the leading entrepreneurship books in the world today, "Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, Practice," with it's ninth edition coming out in 2014, as well as "Corporate Entrepreneurship & Innovation" in 2011 and "Innovation Acceleration" in 2012.

In addition to research, Kuratko has been a consultant on corporate innovation to a number of major Fortune 100 corporations and he is the executive director of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, an organization of more than 250 top university entrepreneurship centers throughout the world.

Kuratko was honored by his peers in Entrepreneurmagazine as the No. 1 entrepreneurship program director in the nation and was selected one of the top entrepreneurship professors in the United States by Fortune Small Business magazine. He has been named one of the top 50 entrepreneurship scholars in the world and was the recipient of the Riata Distinguished Entrepreneurship Scholar Award. In 2011 he was the inaugural recipient of the Karl Vesper Entrepreneurship Pioneer Award for his career dedication to developing the field of entrepreneurship. The National Academy of Management also honored him for his contributions with the Entrepreneurship Advocate Award, one of the highest award bestowed in entrepreneurship.

The College of Business Administration's Entrepreneurship and Innovation series will continue Thursday, Oct. 25, at K-State Olathe with "Creative Problem-Solving: Applied to Your Organization." The seminar, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will be facilitated by Hornsby and Michael Goldsby, Stoops distinguished professor of entrepreneurship and executive director of the Entrepreneurship Center at Ball State University.