On April 20, Business and Entrepreneurship Associate Professor Jason Stephens was awarded the Future Founders EntrepreneurshipU Award for Best Graduate Entrepreneurship Course of the Year for his Entrepreneurship and New Business Creation course. The course asks students to workshop business model ideas and to discuss their work with professionals to further their understanding of the industry.

“It is an honor to receive this recognition from the Future Founders,” Stephens says. “It’s an amazing organization that has helped to elevate standards for Chicago’s academic community in the field of entrepreneurship.”

Of his career and course, Stephens says that “it’s more important than ever that arts entrepreneurs carefully consider both what their unique value offering to the market is, as well as the impact their ventures will have on the society that supports that market.” Stephens notes that the most effective entrepreneurs will be those who can look past the scope of their field and develop a comprehensive understanding of how their business fits alongside, and compliments, other businesses from multiple industries.

Mary Filice, Business and Entrepreneurship chair, accepted the award on Stephens’ behalf. She writes that the award is “a testament to Jason’s expertise in the field, his enthusiastic teaching of the discipline, and his development of the next generation of entrepreneurs in the creative industries.”

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