Entrepreneurship

The Entrepreneurial Culture 

Entrepreneurial thinking permeates the campus of Seton Hill University. At Seton Hill the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the arts, sciences, and humanities, as well as in business. Students are prepared to become responsible, enterprising individuals who can recognize opportunities and think creatively and critically to solve problems in their community or throughout the world. Instead of wishing, students are doing and taking action. Entrepreneurship, often viewed as a business term that focuses on profit, is a much broader term on Seton Hill's campus. Seton Hill uses a more contemporary definition of entrepreneurship - one that is applicable to all majors. We believe an entrepreneur is an individual who "organizes and manages resources in a creative way for an optimal outcome." Defining entrepreneurship in this way makes it possible for students to easily integrate entrepreneurial skills into their studies, their lives, and their careers.

The Wukich Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunities (Wukich CEO)

The Wukich Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunities (Wukich CEO) enhances the University's business programs by providing students with unique opportunities through the Wukich Scholars and Wukich Interns Programs, and the Wukich Micro Loan Fund for Student Entrepreneurs. Wukich CEO also supports faculty research and curriculum development, to ensure that Seton Hill business students are always receiving current, comprehensive instruction.

CareerWorks 

CareerWorks assists students in "building careers with entrepreneurial skills and internships" by connecting them to career related programs and experiences that will help students to develop their entrepreneurial skills in preparation for 21st century careers. Skills such as goal setting, teamwork, flexibility, and sound decision-making are reinforced during experiential learning, long a hallmark of a Seton Hill education. Through internships and other experiential learning opportunities, students transfer knowledge into behavior and learn how to learn so that they can adapt to change as a life-long professional. 

Employers in the global economy are looking for employees who are innovative, adaptable and productive, and who possess the confidence to solve problems as well as the ability to collaborate. Classroom presentations and a multitude of career events and programming help Seton Hill students to acquire those skills. As a result, Seton Hill graduates are valuable in the workplace of today... and tomorrow.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit in the Classroom 

Entrepreneurial thinking is taught, applied, and refined during coursework and assignments throughout the undergraduate years in classes from art to math to theatre. In Connections, a required core curriculum course for freshmen, students are introduced to entrepreneurship and encouraged to develop a plan to "be an entrepreneur of your career." 

Undergraduate classroom activities encourage students to foster the ability to live with creative confidence, to exercise responsible freedom, and to manage one's career, personal and professional life within the context of a changing, global community. Students understand that today, entrepreneurial thinking is necessary, whether it is used by a solo entrepreneur (artist, lawyer, doctor, writer, business owner), a social entrepreneur (director of a non-profit agency, government worker, Peace Corp volunteer) or by an enterprising employee within an organization (large corporation, small business, or start-up). 

Seton Hill's accredited MBA program, one of the largest programs in the Pittsburgh area, also has a focus on entrepreneurship, offering both an MBA specialization and a graduate certificate in entrepreneurship.

Seton Hill Chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization

The Seton Hill Chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO) provides students with the opportunity to actively and creatively explore entrepreneurship outside of the classroom, and use their experiences to become productive members of society as entrepreneurs committed to transforming the world. Members work both individually and in groups to recognize opportunities and overcome challenges through the construction and implementation of a business plan. The mission of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization is to inform, support and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial and seek opportunity through enterprise creation. CEO has chapters on university campuses across North America.

The Seton Hill University Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Team 

SIFE is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible leaders. Participating students form teams on their university campuses applying concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. SIFE operates in 41 countries with 1,376 active university teams of 34,074 students. An annual series of regional and national competitions provides a forum for teams to present the results of their projects, and to be evaluated by business leaders serving as judges. SIFE's leadership and career initiatives create meaningful opportunities for learning and provide placement possibilities for students and alumni with companies in search of emerging talent.

The Farrell Programs for Innovation in Business 

The Farrell Programs for Innovation in Business, made possible by a gift from the Farrell Family Foundation of Pittsburgh, help Seton Hill students develop the entrepreneurial skills needed to compete in a rapidly changing world. The popular Farrell Entrepreneurial Leadership series, a program of The Farrell Programs for Innovation in Business, brings local, national and international business leaders to Seton Hill to share their insight and experience with students while addressing current business issues and trends. Recent speakers and panelists include: David Iwinski, CEO of Denex Labs, LLC; Kathleen Sarniak, President of JSG Oceana, LLC; Howard Slaughter, CEO, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation; Amy Veltri, President, Novel Geo-Environmental; and Shuming Zhao, Ph.D., Professor and Dean of the School of Business at Nanjing University and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Macau University of Science and Technology.

E-Magnify Women's Business Center at Seton Hill 

An innovative program for learning, E-Magnify offers a variety of entrepreneurial resources, educational programs, advocacy initiatives and networking opportunities to women entrepreneurs, the fastest growing segment of the small business market. E-Magnify collaborates with Seton Hill's CareerWorks career and internship service for students to and Seton Hill's business programs to support the teaching of entrepreneurial skills in Seton Hill's business and management courses. In 2006, the U.S. Small Business Administration designated E-Magnify a Women's Business Center.