Coleman Center Receives Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award

The Coleman Entrepreneurship Center (CEC) has received the Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. This award attests to the CEC’s extraordinary impact; given annually to just one university enrolling 5,000 students or more, it is regarded as the highest honor a university entrepreneurship center can receive.

The award was announced at the annual conference of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC). The conference, held Oct. 5-7 at the University of Texas at Dallas, was attended by 700 participants representing 300 universities from across 19 countries.

According to the GCEC, “the Nasdaq award honors those centers that have made and will continue to make enormous contributions in advancing entrepreneurship as the force in economic growth throughout the world.”

“We are thrilled to receive this award directly from our peers,” said CEC Executive Director Bruce Leech. “We look forward to further supporting our entrepreneurs as they excel in business and uplift their communities.” 

“I am proud to say that the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center has created a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. I am confident it will continue to drive economic growth in Chicago and around the world,” said Dean of the Driehaus College of Business Sulin Ba.

The CEC was founded in 2003 with a generous gift from the Coleman Foundation. Over the past 20 years, the CEC has become known as a hub of entrepreneurial excellence in Chicago thanks to its commitment to “doing good by doing well.” Its extensive roster of programs includes the Social Impact Incubator and the Purpose Pitch Competition, designed to advance businesses with a strong social mission; the Halperin Emerging Companies Fund, which has funded two women-owned, alumni-run companies recognized at a national scale; and the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute, which empowers women founders to break through barriers and make a difference.