About
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) serves as an innovation hub for students, faculty, staff, and small business community members, providing essential resources, support, and education to develop successful entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial leaders.
We are committed to entrepreneurial leadership and skill-building, lifting and launching viable ventures, and connecting the entrepreneurship ecosystem with university resources that accelerate business growth.
Vision
Our vision is to be a transformative force in the region, where collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and community members leads to the emergence of innovative ventures and sustainable economic development. We envision a community enriched by skilled entrepreneurs contributing to the local economy while inspiring and uplifting future generations.
CORE VALUES:
Learning.
Wellbeing.
Impact.
Growth.
Community.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
We value and nurture the whole person, not just the entrepreneur.
We search for the wisdom and lessons from any situation to shape our perspective and inform our growth.
Everything's an experiment and is figure-outable.
Authenticity is a competitive edge.
We cultivate a growth mindset and growth culture.
We embrace the process over the outcome.
We build with the triple bottom line in mind: people, planet, and profit.
We put a premium on progress, not perfection.
We believe failure is success in progress. (Albert Einstein)
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
Develop a culture of entrepreneurial thinking, leadership, and skill.
Entrepreneurship is about solving problems. It takes a mindset, skillset, and leadership acumen that will carry you through the journey. We're committed to equipping those who endeavor to become entrepreneurs with the thinking, skill, and leadership capabilities necessary to identify opportunities, assess and take calculated risks, effectively manage the process, and create value in various contexts - whether starting a new business, driving innovation within an existing organization, or solving societal challenges.
Create an internal ecosystem for commercializing viable ventures.
A viable venture or concept is an idea for a product, service, or business model that has the potential to be successful in the marketplace. It's more than just a good idea or side hustle, it's an idea that can be turned into a profitable reality with reaching impact.
Accelerate the growth of local small business owners by leveraging university resources.
Acceleration in the context of small and mid-sized businesses refers to programs or initiatives designed to rapidly advance their growth and development. CEED is committed to helping businesses overcome barriers, expand operations, and reach key milestones faster than they would on their own.