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