ONE of the goals of a college education is to prepare students to compete for the best jobs available and to give them the skills and information they need to succeed. As a liberal arts college, Lake Erie offers students a broad education that can be applied to every field of work. The Center for Entrepreneurship, established in 2007, adds a new dimension, giving Lake Erie students an outlet to apply business thinking to any major and help them form businesses about which they are passionate.

The Lake Erie College Center for Entrepreneurship has inspired students to become more entrepreneurial in their thinking and put their passion to work. The college currently offers majors in entrepreneurship and equine entrepreneurship as well as a minor in entrepreneurship. More than 5% of students have chosen to either major or minor in entrepreneurship studies.
The Lake Erie College Center for Entrepreneurship has inspired students to become more entrepreneurial in their thinking and put their passion to work

Encouraging Student Entrepreneurs

Lake Erie students have the opportunity to become immersed in entrepreneurship. Monthly speaker series including Future Entrepreneurs, which brings experts to campus, and D.E.S.K. (Developing Entrepreneurial Skills and Knowledge), which highlights the more than 24 faculty and staff research grants that have been funded by the center, opens up the discussion and investigation of entrepreneurship to the entire campus.

Community networking events allow students to interact with local entrepreneurs and are supplemented by entrepreneurship internships. Seven entrepreneurs-in-residence have also joined the college to provide hands-on interaction and share their expertise with students, and annual entrepreneurial study trips to foreign countries are also organized.

Students at Lake Erie College have many opportunities to put their passion to work. The annual Idea and Innovation Challenge allows students to choose a business idea, develop a business plan and compete for cash prizes. One recent finalist went on to launch his farmer’s market business a week later and has achieved great success.

Students at Lake Erie College have many opportunities to put their passion to workStudents have also taken the idea of entrepreneurship into their own hands by starting a chapter of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE). This dynamic group began “Rent-A-Plant,” a student-run business, to raise funds for their activities. They also plan and implement a welcome back concert for Lake Erie College and downtown Painesville each year.

“Entrepreneurship fits a liberal arts curriculum perfectly. Students must apply what they have learned from a multitude of areas and combine that knowledge with their creativity and passion,” said Lake Erie College President Michael T. Victor, a fellow entrepreneur. “The discussion and investigation into entrepreneurship has added a new energy to our campus.”