Loyola University Maryland and University of Baltimore to host Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Conference in 2021
Loyola University Maryland and the University of Baltimore (UB) have been selected
to host the prestigious Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Conference
in Baltimore on Oct. 13-16, 2021.
Loyola’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and UB’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will share hosting duties for the event. The event’s theme, “Leading with Entrepreneurship:
Succeeding in Revitalization,” is intended to provide clear examples of how higher
education and entrepreneurs are leading the way to create the new companies that are
transforming their communities.
This worldwide gathering of experts, representing higher education and its connections
to policymakers, business leaders and consumer interests, is designed to “advance
excellence in entrepreneurship through the unique role” of university-based centers
where entrepreneurship is taught and nurtured, according to the GCEC mission statement. The GCEC is the premier organization of academic entrepreneurship
programs around the U.S. and globally.
“We are honored and delighted to co-host this international gathering with the University
of Baltimore, and we are particularly excited to have this opportunity to showcase
our city,” said Kathleen A. Getz, Ph.D., dean of the Sellinger School of Business
and Management. “At Loyola, where we embrace and promote innovation and entrepreneurship,
we look forward to being part of these enriching conversations that will define the
future.”
Baltimore’s 26 co-working spaces, 16 incubators, and 60 federal research labs, all
within a 30-mile radius, provide a broad, close knit entrepreneurial ecosystem that
makes the region a desirable location for starting and growing a business. Paired
with the significant contributions of 13 metropolitan colleges and universities to
this entrepreneurial environment, the Baltimore region is home to many new, successful
companies—particularly in the tech sector—that are in turn bolstering the city’s ongoing
revival.
“This is a great opportunity not only for the two universities but also for the whole
Baltimore business community,” said Murray Dalziel, dean of the University of Baltimore’s
Merrick School of Business. “It brings together entrepreneurs and thought leaders
from around the world, all dedicated to building a brighter future for local, national
and global economies. The University of Baltimore was founded by entrepreneurs, so
we are proud to be a part of it.”
“We are so pleased that GCEC will be going to Baltimore in 2021,” explained Michael
Morris, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and chair of the GCEC Site Selection
Committee. “While the competition was quite strong, the two partnering universities
put together an exciting proposal that really stood out. We were especially impressed
with their emphasis on the transformative potential of university entrepreneurship
programs in our contemporary urban communities.”
About the GCEC:
The GCEC is the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance
to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the vehicle
by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers,
can work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate
and assist each other in advancing, strengthening, and celebrating the role of universities
in teaching the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Each year a global conference is held
on the campus of a GCEC member school. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship
at Rice University serves as the administrative home of the GCEC, and Brad Burke serves
as the GCEC Managing Director.