The entrepreneurship program of DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business has been ranked number two among the top 25 business school programs for entrepreneurs in the country by SUCCESS magazine. The annual rankings are published in the August issue of the magazine. This is the fifth consecutive year DePaul’s program has been chosen among the top 25.

SUCCESS noted DePaul’s focus on course work "designed around the life cycle issues of growth-oriented firms" and listed DePaul’s Ryan Center for Creativity and Innovation as a "wow factor" for the program. Launched last year, the center works with emerging firms to foster creativity and innovation, and researches creativity in business. All students in the entrepreneurship program use the center infrastructure to learn how to surmount barriers that stand between performance and innovative success in developing new venture concepts.

Besides DePaul, two other area universities placed in the top 25. The entrepreneurship program at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Business ranked 10th and Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management program ranked 15th.

In a story accompanying the rankings, the magazine profiled DePaul entrepreneurship program alumnus Kevin Gross and his firm, Train Reinforce Inspire, an Elmhurst-based consulting business that teaches corporate managers communication and motivational skills. He expects $10 million in revenue this year. Gross, 26, who earned his DePaul MBA in 1996, credited feedback from DePaul’s Private Enterprise Network (PEN) as a major factor in his success.

PEN is an annual meeting of investors, investment bankers and Chicago business leaders convened by DePaul to evaluate fledgling businesses. One DePaul entrepreneur student and one alumnus is chosen each year to present their business plans to the PEN panel, which offers constructive criticism and assistance for building the businesses.

The SUCCESS rankings are based on surveys sent to 130 business school MBA programs offering at least three entrepreneurship courses. Seventy schools responded and 68 were found eligible for the rankings. A seven-member panel of entrepreneurial experts evaluated and ranked the 68 entries based on the quality of the curriculum, strength of faculty, support for students, caliber of students and "overall entrepreneurial muscle."

Gerhard Plaschka, chairman of DePaul’s management department, said the rankings confirmed DePaul’s reputation for innovative approaches to the management issues of emerging firms. "Our program design is very appealing to students who seek to become an individual entrepreneur, a member of an entrepreneurial team or an entrepreneurial corporate change agent within a Fortune 1000 company," he said.

DePaul first began offering entrepreneur courses in 1980. Today, the program enrolls about 150 students and offers 14 courses taught by seven full-time faculty members and 10 instructors who are current or former business owners. Among unique programs are those run by Harold Welsch, the Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship at DePaul, who directs the PEN symposium and an internship program for entrepreneurship students who work as consultants to small business owners in the Chicago community.

The ranking comes as DePaul prepares to celebrate two milestones--the 50^th anniversary of its MBA program and the centennial of the university. Kellstadt’s part-time MBA program was ranked seventh in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 1998 graduate business school rankings.

Note to reporters: Plaschka can be reached at 312/362-5451. Lisa Gundry, director of the Ryan Center for Creativity and Innovation, is available at 312/362-8075. Welsch is available at 312/362-8471.