Loyola receives international award for entrepreneurship education
Loyola University Maryland’s Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship received the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers. The award recognizes the Simon Center’s Applied Angel Investing class.
“Students who are lucky enough to take Applied Angel Investing have a transformative experience that they share with the early-stage Baltimore founders whose ventures they recommend for investment,” said Wendy Bolger, founding director of the Simon Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
Students in Applied Angel Investing recommend Baltimore ventures for $20,000 investments from the Loyola Angels Fund, a $250,000 charitable fund established in 2021 that supports local under-resourced entrepreneurs, especially Baltimore-based minority- and women-owned businesses.
To recommend the investments, Applied Angel Investing students attend pitch meetings and analyze companies. They learn the history of early-stage investing; the entrepreneurial landscape and social inequities in Baltimore; concepts and vocabulary in fund formation and investment vehicles; risk management in the funding and decision-making process; and models of valuation.
“The class is exciting because it is a win on so many levels — for students in terms of learning and career prospects, for founders who receive investment and partnership, for jobseekers in the city who benefit from company growth, and for donors to the Loyola Angels Fund looking to make a concrete impact on the ecosystem,” Bolger said. “We are excited to share our pedagogical innovation, developed in partnership with many collaborators, and beyond honored to be selected by a jury of our peers.”
The Excellence in Entrepreneurship Teaching and Pedagogical Innovation award celebrates centers that have developed significant, original innovations in entrepreneurship education. Winners stand out by delivering measurable learning outcomes, fostering strong student engagement, and garnering meaningful stakeholder support. This year’s awardees created hands-on, experiential learning opportunities tailored to underserved entrepreneurs or addressed unique needs within their communities.
The award was presented in November at the annual conference of Rice University’s Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, which facilitates collaboration of entrepreneurship center leaders with the goal of advancing, strengthening, and celebrating the role universities fulfill in educating future entrepreneurs. At the conference, 16 universities of 368 in attendance were awarded top honors in nine categories.
Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management in Baltimore delivers an internationally recognized Jesuit business education. Recognized for its scholarship, ethical leadership, and tradition of excellence, the Sellinger School delivers a wide range of sought-after fields of study including nine undergraduate majors and 12 undergraduate minors as well as full-time, part-time, and fully online MBA and Master of Accounting programs.