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UT College of Business professor Dr. Rebecca White, a professor of entrepreneurship and James W. Walter Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship has recently been named President of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). This is one of the most prominent entrepreneurship organizations in the nation and an affiliate of the International Council for Small Business. This prestigious title was awarded to White after nearly 10 years of participation in the organization as well as years as a professor of Entrepreneurship. USASBE is focused primarily on the sharing of valuable information regarding the education of future entrepreneurs and entrepreneur enthusiasts.

“As president I become the face for the organization, so when CNBC was looking for someone to talk to about entrepreneurship education they contacted me, White said. “This gives UT a national platform since there are schools involved with USASBE from all over the country, such as Harvard and Stanford.”

This also allows for the integration of student run organizations, such as the UT Entrepreneurs, from one campus to another. SEEC, a conference that was launched by UT Entrepreneurship students a few years ago and is now held here every spring, is a perfect example.

Dr. Dean Koutroumanis, a management professor, Associate Director of the UT Center for Entrepreneurship and the faculty advisor of the UT Entrepreneurs believes, “[Dr.] White is very dynamic and knows how to build programs of excellence. Since she has come to UT our entire College of Business and particularly management curriculum has improved tremendously.” Their goal for the Center is to build a nationally recognized entrepreneurship program at UT. “We have already added tons of new programs and plan to implement more,” Koutroumanis said.

Dr. Amy Brownlee, a management professor and the recently appointed Associate Vice President for Social Media at USASBE, was very excited about White’s election as well.

“I was surprised that the university wasn’t making a bigger deal about her election since it has so many positive implications for UT,” Brownlee said. Dr. Brownlee will be heading the social media integration aspect for USASBE to help it become more widely recognized for faculty and students across the nation.

“We have an amazing organization here that should be shared with everyone interested,” White said.

Another goal of White’s this year is for USASBE to “gain an objective voice in public policy for entrepreneurs, as it is an election year and entrepreneurship is an agenda item for everybody who’s running for public office.” Koutroumanis agreed with this statement by explaining that the grass roots movements are how they create jobs.”

UT’s College of Business will continue to grow and succeed with professors as driven and dedicated as White. “We’ve got a great school here and great students and it’s really important for us to tell the rest of the world about it. This is my chance to do that and I intend to take advantage of it,” White said.

Kaylee Moore can be reached at kaylee.moore@spartans.ut.edu.