ECU College of Business helps prepare tomorrow's entrepreneurs

This article was written for our sponsor, East Carolina University

The East Carolina University College of Business is one of the most respected in the nation, thanks to its focus on equipping students with the fundamental business knowledge needed to succeed in their chosen field combined with a unique emphasis on entrepreneurship and leadership. As a result of this focus, 90% of ECU college of business students find a job within one year of graduation.

The college offers seven undergraduate degrees, four graduate degrees and eight stand-alone graduate certificates. It was accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 1967, and is one of only two institutions in North Carolina to be continuously accredited since. The student population comprises more than 4,600 undergraduates and 899 postgraduates. More than 30,000 students have matriculated from the College since its founding.

Business students benefit from the Miller School of Entrepreneurship, which was established in 2015 and launched its Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship in the fall semester of 2019. It is ranked among the top 50 schools of its kind in the United States. Made possible by a $5 million commitment from Raleigh entrepreneur J. Fielding Miller and his wife, Kim Grice Miller, and supported by other large-dollar donations, it is the only named school of entrepreneurship in North Carolina and serves as a regional hub for preparing students to take an entrepreneurial mindset and skills into their communities. Offering a unique entrepreneurship curriculum, the School links with key strategic partners to offer co-curricular programs that help serve as a catalyst for regional transformation.

The Miller School supports students from a variety of majors, not just business. The entrepreneurship certificate has attracted students from dance, fashion merchandising, art, graphic design and computer science, among others.

Students can dive deeper into entrepreneurship through RISE29, ECU’s student entrepreneurship program. It is developing a national model for rural entrepreneurs with the goal of transforming eastern North Carolina through microenterprises, job development and existing business support. RISE29 connects small business ideas with regional community needs. Fueled by big data analytics, student teams develop and launch microenterprises, strengthen existing businesses with long-term continuity plans and commercialize new technology that enhances the region.

Another impressive facet of the ECU College of Business is the Thomas D. Arthur Graduate School of Business, dedicated in November 2022. Arthur, a 1971 graduate of the College of Business, credits the College for his professional success. He gifted the College a $5 million donation, adding to an earlier $1 million gift that established the Thomas D. Arthur Distinguished Professorship in Leadership.

Tristyn Daughtry is one of the first Thomas Arthur Leaders named in the new school. Now program manager for RISE29 , Daughtry sees the Arthur School as an inspiration to future students. "Being an Arthur Leader is an encouragement to students to pursue great things and leverage all of the opportunities the graduate program offers," Daughtry said.

The Crisp Small Business Resource Center was created to help the region leverage the resources and expertise of ECU’s College of Business. Established in 2019 through a $1 million gift from College of Business graduate Matt Crisp, the Center’s mission is to provide ECU’s students and community with the best practices and proven knowledge required to start and sustain enterprises in eastern North Carolina. It does this through faculty research relevant to rural enterprises, focused training, student engagement with small businesses through faculty-managed consulting, and relevant resource identification and dissemination.

The Crisp Center serves a 29-county region in eastern and northeastern North Carolina that includes 28 rural counties and one regional city and suburban county. The center primarily focuses on assisting under-resourced rural businesses.

Success in business requires taking innovative ideas and making them a reality. ECU’s new Isley Innovation Hub features 15,000 square feet of ideation and makerspace, bringing together student innovators to develop ideas, form teams, create early-stage prototypes, and connect with additional entrepreneurial resources.

Among the many features of the hub is the One-Button Studio, where students can record high-quality videos regardless of their technical experience. Mounted lights, a microphone, a camera and a green screen are all provided. The hub’s Technology Lab provides an array of technology and software for high-level design and testing.

The College of Business understands that success upon graduation requires more than rote learning. The Cunanan Center for Professional Success provides personalized coaching and support to undergraduate and graduate business students as they prepare for a career beyond ECU. Its mission is to educate, engage and empower students for career success through strategic and innovative programming, collaborative partnerships and a range of other services, including helping students find quality internships and full-time positions.

Beyond all of that, business students help other business students through the College of Business Peer Mentor program. Peer mentors are current College of Business students who assist first-year business students. They participate in all College of Business events planned for first-year students and hold weekly office hours to meet with students. They also provide a student’s perspective and offer valuable insight by sharing their previous experiences. Peer mentors are selected during spring semester to serve during the following academic year.

This article was written for our sponsor, East Carolina University