Rowan University Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Wins Global Impact Award from International Council for Small Business

By: Reney Waters, Follow South Jersey News Reporting Intern

Photo: Michael Mandarino | Follow South Jersey

GLASSBORO, N.J. — Rowan University became the first college or university to receive the Global Impact Award for Innovation & Entrepreneurship this summer from the International Council for Small Business.

Executive director Dr. Eric Ligouri believes this award is important because it recognizes Rowan’s embrace of entrepreneurship well beyond its College of Business to bridge the gap between education and practice.

“While physically housed in Business Hall, the RCIE supports innovative student thinkers and aspiring entrepreneurs from across all of Rowan’s campuses,” Dr. Liguori said. ““RCIE won this award because of the breadth, depth and reach of its programs.”

The International Council for Small Business’ Global Impact Award was created last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. It aims to recognize organizations that make a conscious effort to close the space between education and practice in the business field.

Rowan’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE) will host a number of programs throughout the year. These programs will encourage students to explore entrepreneurship for not just Rowan students, but high school students through programs such as the Think Like an Entrepreneur Summer Academy & The Rohrer New Venture Competition, which encourages students to pursue entrepreneurial adventures.

“Think Like an Entrepreneur brings underprivileged and underrepresented students from across the nation and around the globe together to form entrepreneurial solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Dr. Ligouri said.

This is the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s second award from the International Council of Small Business, Rowan’s academic entrepreneurship program was one of three universities globally recognized with ICSB’s Entrepreneurship Education Excellence Award in 2019, which led to Rowan’s designation as an official ICSB Knowledge Hub in 2020.


This article was produced by a Follow South Jersey news intern thanks to a grant provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through the New Jersey Health Initiatives program to create hyper-local news to meet the informational and health needs of the City of Bridgeton, N.J.