Belmont's entrepreneurship program ranked as one of best in the country

Belmont University has ranked in the top 25 schools for its entrepreneurship program.

Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review surveyed 2,300 schools for the ranking. Belmont ranked 23rd in the undergraduate category.

"Belmont made the commitment to create a quality program in entrepreneurship, and I am proud that we have been able to make so much progress in only five years," says Jeff Cornwall, director of Belmont's Center for Entrepreneurship and holder of the Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship. "To be singled out from the hundreds of universities across the country is a testimony to the support we have gotten from the students, alumni, faculty, staff and administration of Belmont and the Nashville business community."

The schools were evaluated on academics, requirements, students and faculty and outside the classroom experience.

"Schools that made the ranking are an excellent research starting point for prospective entrepreneurship students," says Amy Cosper, vice president and editor in chief at Entrepreneur.

The survey results appear in the October issue, which hits newsstands Sept. 23.

Belmont's program also received the National Model Undergraduate Program of the Year by the U.S. Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship earlier this year.

7th Annual Student-Run Forum on Entrepreneurship and Innovation

WELLESLEY, Mass., Sept 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Babson College, the world leader in entrepreneurial education, will host the 7th annual Babson Forum on Entrepreneurship & Innovation (BFEI), Thursday, October 2, 2008.

BFEI is the largest student-run entrepreneurship-focused event at the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College. BFEI's goal is to raise awareness of key opportunities and challenges facing entrepreneurs in an increasingly complex and global business world.

The day-long event includes a number of expert panels on a variety of topics including: Product Design and Creation, Green Entrepreneurship, Biotechnology Entrepreneurship, Corporate Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Franchising, Technology Entrepreneurship, and Venture Capital & Private Equity.

Keynote speakers include: Jon M. Huntsman, Founder & Chairman of The Huntsman Corporation, Isaac Larian, Founder & CEO of MGA Entertainement (Bratz Dolls), Florine Mark, President and CEO of The WW Group (Weight Watchers). Kevin Rollins, former CEO of Dell, Inc., Kevin Colleran, Director of National Sales at Facebook, Inc., Ruthie Davis, Founder & Creator of Davis by Ruthie Davis shoes, and Bob Shapiro, Former CEO of The NutraSweet Company, will also present along with 30 other extraordinary entrepreneurs.

The Babson Forum concludes with an Idea Expo and Networking Reception with speakers, panelists, venture capitalists, and private equity professionals. Participants will also learn how to take their "Big Idea" to the next level, and have the opportunity to enter the $30,000 Babson Innovation Competition. Interested entrepreneurs should register to submit their big idea by Sept. 14th at: http://www.babsonforum.com/2008/competition/

U.S. News & World Report magazine has ranked Babson's MBA program #1 in Entrepreneurship Education for 15 consecutive years.

To register and for more information and a complete schedule of the day's activities, go to the Babson Forum website: http://www.babsonforum.com.

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit http://www.babson.edu.

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.