DePaul University Management Professor Raman Chadha of Chicago has won a national teaching award inaugurated this year by the Texas-based Acton Foundation to recognize superior entrepreneurship educators.

Chadha was among 27 teachers from across the country presented with the first annual Entrepreneurship Education Awards during the non-profit organization’s two-day teaching seminar in Austin, Texas Feb 1-2. Each winner received a trophy and $1,000.

“Great teachers change lives by inspiring students to recognize their gifts and learn how to use them to pursue a worthy dream,” said Acton Foundation President Rick O’Donnell. “Raman Chadha is one such great teacher.”

Candidates for the award were nominated by their students, and then these recommendations were reviewed by a panel of Acton’s master entrepreneurship teachers who chose the award winners.

“In my view, there is no greater honor than being nominated for a teaching award by students in your own classroom,” Chadha said. “DePaul has an environment in which professors can be comfortable using innovative teaching methods, and it’s very fulfilling when that leads to an atmosphere where students feel comfortable becoming engaged with the learning process.”

The award winners were invited to bring to Acton’s teaching seminar one of their top entrepreneurship students. The students each received $1,000 each toward education costs and the opportunity to participate in case discussions—led by master teachers from the Acton School of Business—that put them in the shoes of real entrepreneurs. Alla Ioffe of Milwaukee, a DePaul junior majoring in business, joined Chadha at the seminar.

“We brought students and teachers together to jointly discuss how to make business education in America even better for future entrepreneurs,” O’Donnell said. “We want to recognize outstanding teachers who inspire students to become principled entrepreneurs. Principled entrepreneurs are the ones who build great and lasting companies and non-profits that create jobs, increase wealth and improve our society.”

Chadha, who also is executive director of DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, has been an entrepreneurial consultant, advocate and educator for more than ten years. Prior to joining DePaul, he ran his own consulting practice, through which he helped more than 200 entrepreneurs start, grow and manage their companies. He has been active in entrepreneurial development through the creation of innovative courses and programs and has taught entrepreneurship at DePaul since 2002. He earned his MBA in entrepreneurship and marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Founded in 1982 at the College of Commerce, DePaul’s entrepreneurship program (http://cec.depaul.edu/home/index.php) encompasses 12 undergraduate and graduate courses taught by 16 faculty members. Courses cover business plan development, entrepreneurial strategy and management, new venture financing, business growth, creativity, innovation and technological change, among other topics. More than 400 students take courses in the program each year. The program has earned high rankings from Entrepreneur and Fortune Small Business magazine. It is supported by the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, which manages education and outreach programs designed to stimulate the start-up and growth of entrepreneurial firms.

The Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence (www.actonfoundation.org) is a nonprofit organization established in 1997 to serve both teachers and aspiring entrepreneurs. The foundation trains and inspires master teachers, equipping them with the courses and learning tools necessary to help aspiring entrepreneurs. Its advising and mentoring guides offer teachers ways to be more intentional and effective in assisting those looking for career advice and searching for their calling. Its Stars & Steppingstones and job search guides offer aspiring entrepreneurs a path to discover their calling and to live a life of meaning.

Editors’ Note: For DePaul interviews, contact Robin Florzak, DePaul Media Relations, at 312/362-8592; for Acton Foundation interviews, contact Holt Hackney, Hackney Communications: 512-478-8858, ext. 115, or HHackney@hackneycommunications.com