USASBE Celebrates 2025 Individual Award Recipients
Dr. Michael H. Morris and Matt Smilor receive individual awards alongside a slate of inductees for the Longenecker Fellows and Wilford L. White Fellows
LAS VEGAS, NV -- The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) presented Dr. Michael H. Morris with the Max S. Wortman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship; Matt Smilor was awarded the Ray Smilor USASBE Volunteer of the Year Award; the 2025 Longenecker Fellows were announced; and new Wilford L. White Fellows were inducted as part of the USASBE 2025: Fortune Favors the Bold annual conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in February.
Max S. Wortman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship
Dr. Morris is a faculty member of the Keough School’s McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business at the University of Notre Dame. A pioneer in curricular innovation and experiential learning, Dr. Morris helped build entrepreneurship programs at three universities that have been ranked in the top 10 nationally and globally recognized for excellence. He also directs the Experiential Classroom, sharing best practices in entrepreneurship education with educators worldwide. Dr. Morris’ current research focuses on poverty and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial emergence, differences in venture types, and social innovation. He is a past president of USASBE and was recognized as USASBE’s Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year in 2012.
“It is an honor to present the well-deserved recognition for Dr. Morris, Matt Smilor, and all of our Longenecker and Wilford L. White Fellows,” said Jennifer Capps, Interim CEO of USASBE. “These outstanding individuals have furthered the field of entrepreneurship education in countless ways. Their dedication and innovative thinking are an inspiration to many aspiring entrepreneurship educators and students.”
Established in 2004 and presented annually, the Max S. Wortman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship is the organization’s highest individual honor and recognizes a deserving individual or organization for a career spent consistently and enthusiastically pursuing the highest of entrepreneurial ideals via academic study, pedagogy, or venture creation. Previous award winners include University of North Carolina Greensboro’s Dr. Dianne H.B. Welsh (2024); GMF Academic Advisors, LLC’s Dr. Geralyn McClure Franklin (2023); Indiana University’s Dr. Donald (Dr. K) Kuratko (2022); and Wake Forest University’s Dr. Pat Dickson (2021).
Ray Smilor USASBE Volunteer of the Year Award
Matt Smilor is the director of the Greg Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. Previously, he was the director of the Values and Ventures program at the Neeley Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Texas Christian University. He has been a member of USASBE for 10 years.
Matt’s father, Ray Smilor (the namesake of the award), had the honor of presenting the award to him. “This year’s Ray Smilor Volunteer of the Year Award recipient has given generously of his time and talent to advance the mission of USASBE, to strengthen the operations of the organization, and to advance entrepreneurship education,” Ray said. “In the process, he has demonstrated for each one of us the defining characteristic of exceptional volunteer service.”
The Ray Smilor USASBE Volunteer of the Year is given to an individual who has provided exceptional service to USASBE over the last year.
Longenecker Fellows
The 2025 Justin B. Longenecker Fellows were also inducted at the event. Kim Eddleston, Northeastern University; Julienne Shields, Millikin University; Christoph Winkler, Iona University; and William “Bill” Jackson, Stetson University (inducted posthumously), earned the highest recognition that USASBE gives to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development, furtherance, and benefit of small and medium businesses. The Longenecker Fellow designation recognizes the achievements of men and women whose passion and burning desire for small business and entrepreneurship is reflected in their teaching, writing, training, and public service.
Wilford L. White Fellows
Geralyn Franklin, Jay Krysler, and Mark Schenkel were inducted as Wilford L. White Fellows at the event. Selection as a Wilford L. White Fellow is the highest recognition given to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the development, furtherance and benefit of small and medium sized businesses. The award was created in 1977, and was named for visionary leader Dr. Wilford L. White.
Mark your calendars for the 2026 USASBE conference, tentatively planned for February 18-21, 2026, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
About USASBE
Founded in 1981, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) is an inclusive community of educators, researchers, and entrepreneurs advancing entrepreneurship education through bold teaching, scholarship, and practice. Membership is open to all, as is attendance at USASBE’s hallmark annual conference. USASBE also publishes a peer-reviewed academic journal, Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy, and develops a variety of helpful resources and professional development opportunities for entrepreneurship educators as they create necessary change and positive impact. For more information, visit USASBE.org
Contact
Grayson Wolff
Email: gwolff at usasbe dot org
Phone: 708-462-2332