Loyola University Maryland and University of Baltimore to host Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Conference in 2021

Loyola University Maryland and the University of Baltimore (UB) have been selected to host the prestigious Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Conference in Baltimore on Oct. 13-16, 2021.  

Loyola’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and UB’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will share hosting duties for the event. The event’s theme, “Leading with Entrepreneurship: Succeeding in Revitalization,” is intended to provide clear examples of how higher education and entrepreneurs are leading the way to create the new companies that are transforming their communities.

This worldwide gathering of experts, representing higher education and its connections to policymakers, business leaders and consumer interests, is designed to “advance excellence in entrepreneurship through the unique role” of university-based centers where entrepreneurship is taught and nurtured, according to the GCEC mission statement. The GCEC is the premier organization of academic entrepreneurship programs around the U.S. and globally.

“We are honored and delighted to co-host this international gathering with the University of Baltimore, and we are particularly excited to have this opportunity to showcase our city,” said Kathleen A. Getz, Ph.D., dean of the Sellinger School of Business and Management. “At Loyola, where we embrace and promote innovation and entrepreneurship, we look forward to being part of these enriching conversations that will define the future.”

Baltimore’s 26 co-working spaces, 16 incubators, and 60 federal research labs, all within a 30-mile radius, provide a broad, close knit entrepreneurial ecosystem that makes the region a desirable location for starting and growing a business. Paired with the significant contributions of 13 metropolitan colleges and universities to this entrepreneurial environment, the Baltimore region is home to many new, successful companies—particularly in the tech sector—that are in turn bolstering the city’s ongoing revival.

“This is a great opportunity not only for the two universities but also for the whole Baltimore business community,” said Murray Dalziel, dean of the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business. “It brings together entrepreneurs and thought leaders from around the world, all dedicated to building a brighter future for local, national and global economies. The University of Baltimore was founded by entrepreneurs, so we are proud to be a part of it.”

“We are so pleased that GCEC will be going to Baltimore in 2021,” explained Michael Morris, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and chair of the GCEC Site Selection Committee. “While the competition was quite strong, the two partnering universities put together an exciting proposal that really stood out. We were especially impressed with their emphasis on the transformative potential of university entrepreneurship programs in our contemporary urban communities.”  

About the GCEC:

The GCEC is the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening, and celebrating the role of universities in teaching the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.  Each year a global conference is held on the campus of a GCEC member school.  The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University serves as the administrative home of the GCEC, and Brad Burke serves as the GCEC Managing Director.