Carol Reeves, A’s former vice president of entrepreneurship, received the Legacy Award last week in Las Vegas, Nevada, from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers.
LAS VEGAS — When Carol Reeves first started developing entrepreneurship programs at the University of Arkansas, she and another part-timer ran all the entrepreneurship activities on campus.
Last week in Las Vegas, seven members of the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation team were on hand as Reeves received the Legacy Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers.
“When we started…it cost more than our annual budget to send seven team members to the GCEC conference,” Reeves reflected.
The Global Consortium was established in 1997 to facilitate collaboration among university-based entrepreneurship centers in the United States, and since 2012 the Legacy Award has been presented to those who pioneer and lead a university entrepreneurship center that has made a legacy impact in the field. Entrepreneurship, according to its website.
Reeves, who is retiring from the U of A in 2020 and has driven thriving entrepreneurship programs, praised the students, faculty and team members who have helped transform the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the university and across Arkansas.
“Our most important resource has always been our students,” Reeves said. “They’re incredibly hardworking, they’re smart and they’re almost shockingly humble.”
Reflecting on his legacy, Reeves added that there are two groups he hopes to impact: the students and the team that succeeded him.
“(Students) have revolutionized the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state of Arkansas,” Reeves said. “The depth and breadth of the programs that (OEI) has created and implemented is mind boggling to me.”
Reeves joined the U of A in 1990 and graduated from the Sam M. College of Business. Walton became a professor and taught courses in entrepreneurship and new venture development, international business, strategic management, and negotiation. In 2005, he was named the Cecil W. and Gwendolyn Stuckipp Applied Professor in Entrepreneurship.
Between 2009 and 2018, Reeves student teams won more national business championships than any other university in America. Reeves retired in 2020 as associate dean of entrepreneurship education.
According to Ann O’Leary-Kelly, senior vice president for faculty and academic affairs at Walton College, the Consortium Legacy Award was a fitting honor for Reeves.
O’Leary-Kelly, who often collaborated with Reeves, said: “For me, legacy is something that is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s more than individual achievement. It represents long-term impact and rich influence. ” .
These are all characteristics that describe the impact Carol Reeves has had on entrepreneurship and innovation in the state of Arkansas.
About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and manages innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students in all fields. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Center, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village and Greenhouse in Bentonville, OEI offers free workshops and programs – including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup mentoring. A unit of Sam M. College. Walton and the Department of Economic Development, OEI also provides on-demand support to students who will be innovating in existing organizations and entrepreneurs who are starting a new business.
