University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
The Messenger
Vol. 5, No. 1/1995
Economic education emphasizes entrepreneurship

     The University of Delaware's Center for Economic Education
has added "and Entrepreneurship" to its title, and it's more than
just a name change. According to director James B. O'Neill, the
addition reflects an increased emphasis on entrepreneurship in
the center's mission and its master's degree program. Like the
center, the degree name also has changed, and it now is the
Master of Arts in Economic Education and Entrepreneurship.
     Entrepreneurship is a concept that reflects the emphasis and
importance of individual initiative in the marketplace in the
'90s. By definition, an entrepreneur is a person who organizes,
manages and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise, and
these are the qualities that are the focus of the center's
program, O'Neill says.
     "In the past, when employees joined a company, frequently
they spent their entire careers there, but, that has changed.
There are no guarantees, and people change jobs more frequently.
There is more personal freedom, but people also must take more
initiative and risks.
     "Entrepreneurship can lead to failure as well as success.
Most people don't hit a home run the first time they are up at
bat. However, by trying something new, by using the skills they
have, by making judgments and decisions, students can learn from
experience and gain self-confidence to compete in today's world,"
O'Neill says.
     The center received a $50,000 grant from the Ewing Marion
Kauffman Foundation's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership to
emphasize entrepreneurship in its master's degree program, which
serves educators from across the country.
     This year, the program's six-week summer session included
Entrepreneurship Education Week. In addition to the 25
participants in the master's program who represented states from
Alaska to Delaware, a number of program alumni also had an
opportunity to attend.
     The week emphasized how entrepreneurship can be taught in
the classroom through economics education and hands-on projects,
O'Neill says.
                                          -Sue Swyers Moncure