UW Entrepreneurship Education Boosted with New Hire

The University of Wyoming's entrepreneurship education has been boosted with a new hire in the College of Business.

The University officially announced in a release last Wednesday the hiring of Dr. Patrick Kreiser as the new Rile Chair of Entrepreneurship and Leadership in conjunction with the launch of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Kreiser most recently served as the Bob and Kay Smith Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship at Iowa State University. He worked at Ohio University as the Robert H. Freeman Professor of Entrepreneurship and the director of academic programs and research. He also worked as a visiting scholar of entrepreneurship at Indiana University.

Kreiser is a member of the board of Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and has been published in leading entrepreneurship journals.

Kreiser chairs a task force that is revamping the entrepreneurship curriculum.

“We want to combine the academic piece - the theory and concepts - with the application piece,” Kreiser said. “I think one of the things the task force is excited about doing is promoting that integration where students develop the skills they need but also can go out and hone them in the real world.”

Students will work with entrepreneurs and businesses in the state as well as creating their own businesses.

Kreiser says he was drawn to the position because of support for entrepreneurship across the university and state.

“There’s a tremendous amount of opportunity, and it’s something that hasn’t been fully unleashed as of yet,” Kreiser told UW News. “There are so many exciting things we can do - from the Business Creation Factory to student curriculum to outreach throughout all of Wyoming. I think it’s going to be great for the state and the university.”

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