MSU College of Business recognition remarkable

In one of those bits of news that tends to stay under the radar, Entrepreneur magazine has ranked the Montana State University College of Business http://www.montana.edu/cob/ in the top 10 in the nation for entrepreneurial emphasis.

By Chronicle Editor

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2004/05/13/opinions/bizscholbzopin.txt

(Thanks to John O’Donnell for bringing this to our attention. Well done MSU COB.- Russ)

The ranking puts MSU in the company of much larger and more celebrated schools like Arizona State, Oregon State and Purdue universities.

And the distinction is an example of how the state university system and MSU in particular have been quietly garnering attention on the national stage while often ignored – sometimes even disparaged – within the borders of our own state.

MSU was cited for its Center for Entrepreneurship for the New West http://www.montana.edu/cob/centernewwest/ , a partnership with the Tech Ranch http://www.techranch.org and its business incubator. Entrepreneur magazine recognized that the center has provided an opportunity for business students at MSU to get hands-on experience in the real world with real start-up companies. http://www.matr.net/article-10734.html

Even more notable, the business incubator has had demonstrable success, providing space and resources for new companies that have graduated on to become stand-alone companies offering decent, well-paying jobs to Montanans.

When one considers all of the politicians’ "economic development" development schemes that produce absolutely no tangible results, the success of the Tech Park seems even more remarkable. In a state where small business is far and away the largest economic sector, the Tech Park is proving to be an effective on-the-ground vehicle for getting new businesses on their feet.

Coupled with the steady growth in grants and contracts earned by MSU faculty – fast approaching $100 million a year – MSU and its partnership with the Tech Park represent the most promising and fastest-growing segment of the Montana economy.

In light of all this, it’s troubling that U-system officials must go begging for an ever-shrinking proportion of state support for their institutions, forcing them to turn to tuition increases to fund their basic educational mission.

What funds the Legislature is appropriating for the U-system are proving to be best investment by far of any money the state spends. Let’s hope lawmakers awaken to this fact before they meet again in January.