Samford University

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Entrepreneurship Major:

The entrepreneurship major prepares students to start or find employment in new ventures, family firms, small businesses, or innovative large companies.  The program equips students with both the specific skills and broad general knowledge needed to manage these businesses with a curriculum that includes required courses in business plan writing, market research, and business valuation, as well as elective courses focusing on family business, managing innovation, or small business consulting.

Concentration in Social Entrepreneurship (SE):

Coupled with any Business major, this concentration equips students to start or find employment in not-for-profit organizations and for-profit firms pursuing social missions. Students focus on broad issues, such as the role of social action organizations in a national economy, and develop specific skills needed to successfully run these types of organizations. A Social Entrepreneurship minor is also offered to non-Business majors interested in working in or starting socially entrepreneurial organizations.  This minor provides students with foundational business knowledge and teaches them specific SE concepts they can use to complement their non-Business majors.  Thus, both the concentration and minor are particularly useful for students planning to work in charitable, ministerial, governmental, or other non-profit organizations.    

The Regions New Venture Challenge:

The Brock School of Business and Regions Bank teamed up in 2009 for the “Regions New Venture Challenge” business plan competition. This competition is one in a series of new programs at the Brock School of Business aimed at making it a leading school for aspiring entrepreneurs. Regions Bank donated $20,000 to fund the competition, which has two divisions, one for students enrolled in the School’s “BUSA 100, World of Business” course ($2,500 first prize) and the other for all current Samford students and recent alumni ($7,500 first prize). Regions Bank has committed to funding this competition again in 2010.

BUSA 100, World of Business:
World of Business is a course designed for first-year students at Samford University considering a business major that examines important business issues. BUSA 100, however, involves much more than just the typical “Introduction to Business” course. In the spring semester of their freshman year, students write a preliminary business plan that they can enter into the Regions New Venture Challenge in April and continue to develop as they progress through the Business program. Samford University is unique in offering this freshman-level course because many other business schools only offer introductory entrepreneurship courses to juniors and seniors.

ENTR 486, Social Entrepreneurship and Not-for-Profit Management:
Social Entrepreneurship and Not-for-Profit Management examines topics unique to socially entrepreneurial (SE) businesses, which include non-profit organizations and for-profit firms pursuing social missions. Students use what they learn in the course by developing a strategic plan for a new or existing SE organization. In addition, professors from across the Brock School of Business team teach the course to provide students with a broad variety of perspectives (including economics, entrepreneurship, and marketing) on critical issues related to managing these organizations. The course embodies Samford University’s Christian mission to “foster academic, career, and ethical competency while encouraging social and civic responsibility and service to others.”

ENTR 487, Applied Social Entrepreneurship and Non-Profit Management:
Students partner with local for-profit and non-profit organizations to develop new or improve existing community outreach initiatives. Alternatively, students may design their own programs that target specific community needs.  Each fall, a select number of students also receive $2,000 fellowships to work as interns in local non-profit and socially entrepreneurial for-profit organizations including the Ronald McDonald House, American Cancer Society, and Seedco.

See http://www4.samford.edu/business/resources/features/socent/internship.php

The Department of Entrepreneurship, Management, and Marketing offers majors in entrepreneurship, management, and marketing – each leading to a bachelor of science in business administration (B.S. B.A.) degree. In addition, students can earn concentrations in international business and social entrepreneurship. Minors in general business and social entrepreneurship and non-profit management are also available for non-Business majors.

Entrepreneurship Major:
Graduates will be prepared to start or find employment in new ventures, family firms, small businesses, or innovative large companies.  Students will be equipped with both specific skills and broad general knowledge of factors impacting the success of these businesses.

The Social Entrepreneurship (SE) Program at Samford University provides students with both the conceptual framework and skills needed to help address critical societal problems in the local, national, and global community. Business students taking the SE concentration or non-Business students choosing the SE minor should obtain the broad perspective and skills needed to find employment in nonprofit organizations or for-profit firms pursuing social missions.

A list of courses may be viewed at: http://www4.samford.edu/business/academics/majors-and-minors.php

A list of all majors available to undergrads at Samford may be viewed at:
http://www.samford.edu/majors.aspx

The Brock School of Business Social Entrepreneurship Program was one of only 28 programs in the world recognized in 2008 by Ashoka®, a leading Social Entrepreneurship organization, in the publication, The Social Entrepreneurship Handbook, available at http://www.universitynetwork.org/handbook.

Winner, USASBE’s 2010 National Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Program (USASBE is the largest independent, professional, academic organization in the world focused on advancing entrepreneurship)                       

Entrepreneurship Program Director, Dr. Franz Lohrke, appointed to the Executive Board of the Academy of Management’s Entrepreneurship Division (2010-2012)

Selected as one of Best Value Colleges in 2010 by the Princeton Review and USA Today.  See http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/best-value-colleges.htm

Four Samford professors, including two in the Brock School of Business, have been named Carnegie Professor of the Year for Alabama since 1994.

Samford is listed as one of the Colleges of Distinction and is a College-Bound Coalition member.

School type: Four Year, Private, Founded: 1841

Affiliation: Christian (Alabama Baptist State Convention)

Web site: http://www.samford.edu/

Student Profile:

Number of undergraduate, full-time students:
2,848

Percentage of undergraduate, full-time male students, female students:
35% male, 65% Female

Number of states represented by student body:
39

Number of countries represented by student body:
19

Percentage of international students:
1%

Percentage of minority students:
10%

Number of students participating in entrepreneurship:
Over half the students in the Brock School of Business enroll annually in Entrepreneurship-related classes.

Faculty Profile:

Number of full-time faculty:
278

Student/Faculty ratio:
11:1

Percentage of Classes Taught by Graduate Assistants: 0

Athletics:

Athletic division, conference, number of varsity sports:
NCAA Division I, Southern Conference, 17 varsity sports.

Financial:

Cost of tuition:
$20,590 tuition includes student fees, room and board $6,624.

Percentage of students who receive some financial aid:
80%

Professor Franz T. Lohrke; Brock Family Chair in Entrepreneurship
Brock School of Business
Samford University
800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, AL. 35229

(205) 726-2373
Fax: 205-726-2464

Ftlohrke@samford.edu

http://www4.samford.edu/business/index_brock.php