Awards

The USASBE Model Program Awards recognize colleges and universities that provide comprehensive, bold, high quality educational programs that train future generations of entrepreneurs. The program must have an established record of accomplishment for a minimum of three years. This award category recognizes the comprehensiveness of a curricular program. Please see specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

The USASBE Model Program Awards recognize colleges and universities that provide comprehensive, bold, high quality educational programs that train future generations of entrepreneurs. The program must have an established record of accomplishment for a minimum of three years. This award category recognizes the comprehensiveness of a curricular program. Please see specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

The USASBE Model Emerging Program Awards recognizes colleges and universities for their efforts developing nascent entrepreneurship programs that demonstrate outstanding progress towards becoming comprehensive, bold, and innovative educational programs with early records of student impact. Programs nominated for this award were founded three years ago, or less, measured from January 1. This award category recognizes the start of a curricular program. Please see specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

The USASBE Model Re-Emerging Program Awards recognizes colleges and universities for their efforts developing nascent entrepreneurship programs that demonstrate outstanding progress towards becoming comprehensive, bold, and innovative educational programs with early records of student impact. Programs nominated for this award were founded more than 8 years ago, measured as of January 1; AND have gone through a major restart following dormancy or organizational restructure during the last 3 years. This award category recognizes the restart of a curricular program. Please see specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

This Model Award is for community* accelerator or incubator programs primarily designed to develop and support community entrepreneurship at any stage appropriate for the community context. This could mean an accelerator or incubator focused on any stage of the startup lifecycle (ideation through scaling). Qualifying programs for this award should receive less than 25% of their funding directly or indirectly from a university and it should not be branded as a university accelerator or incubator.  Please find specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

This Model Award is for university-affiliated accelerator or incubator programs primarily designed to develop and support students or community members at the idea stage. Please find specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

The USASBE Excellence in Pedagogical Innovation Awards recognizes colleges and universities for innovation in entrepreneurial education at the course level. These innovations are assessed based on creativity, quality, sustainability, and impact. This award category celebrates innovation in entrepreneurial education at the course level. Please see specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

The USASBE Excellence in Co-Curricular Innovation Awards celebrates the critical role of co-curricular programming in the overall entrepreneurship education ecosystem. This award category encourages and recognizes colleges and universities for innovative, co-curricular programs that demonstrate creativity, quality, sustainability, and impact. Nominees should illustrate best practice and be a model for others. Please see specific award criteria here.

Nominations Will Open Soon

Established in 2004, The Max S. Wortman, Jr. /USASBE Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship was instituted on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the founding of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). The award is presented to a worthy recipient in recognition for a lifetime of entrepreneurial achievement that encompasses the ideals of entrepreneurial activity. Eligibility extends both to those whose life’s pursuits supported and advocated entrepreneurial ideals as well as those who have pursued a lifetime of successful venture creation. The Awards Committee shall consider the originality, depth, breadth and impact of the entire body of the nominees'  entrepreneurial pursuits and impact.

Nominee Criteria

• All nominees shall have risen to the highest level of entrepreneurial achievement in either academia or practice throughout the nominee’s lifetime.
• Nominees should be an individual or organization who (which) has consistently demonstrated an unwavering drive, dedication, and determination for pursuing entrepreneurism in education, commerce, and/or other venues.
• Candidates should have devoted a lifetime of commitment to individual, organizational, and/or social entrepreneurship.
• Nominees need not have founded a company (or organization) and may come from the corporate world or any level of academia.
• Organizations, both profit and non-profit, as well as individuals are eligible for this award.
• Recipient must be present at the USASBE Annual Conference to receive the award. Exceptions may be made for reasons of health. This award may be made posthumously.
• Award may not be made every year.
• Evidence of a lifetime in the pursuit of the highest ideals of entrepreneurism: (Please provide a 600 word assessment of the nominee that demonstrates the criteria outlined above). Names, addresses and contact information of two or three references who would be willing to write a letter of support. In recognition of the nominee’s accomplishments, this requirement may be waived by the review committee.

Nominations Will Open Soon

USASBE Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year

The Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year is given to a mid-career individual who has provided distinguished educational leadership within the field of entrepreneurship. Winners will typically have contributed advancements to the way in which educators think about and approach entrepreneurship teaching and learning.

Nominee Criteria

• Nominees should mid-career educators who have an impactful record of contributing to the way entrepreneurship is taught and learned.
• Candidates should have contributed significant innovations to curriculum design, course development, teaching methodologies, and/or pedagogical tools and approaches.
• Nominees should be noted for their excellence in the classroom.
• Consideration is given to the individual’s reputation for working with and mentoring students.
• The recipient must be present at the USASBE Annual Conference to receive the award.
• Award may not be given every year.

Nominations Will Open Soon

John E. Hughes Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement

John E. Hughes was born in February, 1927; dropped out of high school in 1944, volunteered for military service in World War II, serving with the parachute infantry. After leaving the service, he obtained a high school GED in 1947, and went on to receive his C.P.A. certificate, from the University of Illinois in 1957. In 1968, he founded his own C.P.A.  firm.  After selling his firm, he went on to be an owner and CEO at Archibald/Fannie May Candy Shops, Inc. from 1981 through 1991, selling his interest in October 1991. Mr. Hughes is passionate about self-employment and its positive impact on individuals and communities, which is why this award was established in his name supported by the Coleman Foundation where Mr. Hughes was Board Chairman Emeritus.

Revised in 2018, The John E. Hughes Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement recognizes an individual who, through significant and sustained entrepreneurial initiatives, has demonstrated a unique ability to accept and manage risk, exercise personal control, and acquire personal reward. The recipients should be an entrepreneur (new venture, corporate, and/or social) that is committed to entrepreneurship education and has demonstrated impact on the field of entrepreneurship, community leadership and philanthropic giving.

Nominee Criteria

• Nominees should be an individual who has used business ownership to make a positive contribution to the world. Business ownership can be through startup or being a CEO of an existing organization.
• Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to entrepreneurship education at any level, and their impact on entrepreneurship education will be considered a plus.
• Nominees should exhibit philanthropic achievement recognizing the importance of "paying it forward" to help others (including organizations) positively impact their community.
• Recipients must be present at the USASBE annual meeting to receive the award.
• The award may not be given every year.

Nominations Will Open Soon

The Ray Smilor Volunteer of the Year is given to an individual who has provided exceptional service to USASBE over the last year. This award is nominated by the USASBE Chair in collaboration with USASBE HQ, and approved by the Board of Directors.

The 3E Awards, hosted by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), celebrate excellence in Entrepreneurial Experiential Education (3E). The awards started from George Washington University's 3e-Learning Project to recognize innovative and effective teaching tools designed to enhance the learning experience for students studying entrepreneurship, small business, and new venture development.

Entrepreneurial experiential exercises encompass a wide range of teaching methods, including class exercises, games, projects, and experiments. These tools are created by educators to engage students actively and help them grasp the concepts and practices of entrepreneurship. By sharing these resources, the 3E Awards aim to foster a vibrant community of entrepreneurship educators and promote best practices in experiential learning.

Each year, USASBE invites educators to submit their most impactful and creative entrepreneurial experiential exercises to the 3E Awards competition. From the pool of submissions to the Competitive Experiential Exercises track, reviewers select up to 10 finalists who are then invited to present their ideas at the Annual USASBE Conference. This event provides a platform for educators to showcase their innovative teaching methods, learn from their peers, and inspire others to adopt and adapt these tools in their own classrooms.

The 3E Awards not only recognize the outstanding contributions of individual educators but also serve as a valuable resource for the entire entrepreneurship education community. By collecting and disseminating these entrepreneurial experiential exercises, USASBE enables instructors to access a wealth of teaching materials and incorporate them into their curricula, ultimately benefiting students and enhancing the quality of entrepreneurship education worldwide.

• Best New Scholar Paper Award
• Best Empirical Paper Award
• Best Conceptual Paper Award
• Best Overall Paper Award

To apply for these awards submit a paper to the Competitive Research Track.

Submissions Will Open Soon

A number of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) have put together awards for discipline-specific areas of entrepreneurship education and ecosystem builders. Please review the list below and check out the criteria for the various award categories.

• Minority and Women in Entrepreneurship SIG
• Online Entrepreneurship Education
• Social Entrepreneurship