Gamble Hall at UND. Photo courtesy of business.und.edu.

The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) has approved the University of North Dakota’s Department of Entrepreneurship moving to a new status as the UND School of Entrepreneurship. In this new role, entrepreneurial studies will have the chance to become more independent of traditional business studies. UND now joins a group of just five universities in the nation with such a school.

The shift is a milestone in UND’s entrepreneurship program, as it allows for greater development of UND’s already substantial opportunities. When the new school begins its first year this fall, campus leaders hope to see growth in innovation across campus as more students take an interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship.

“The School will help emerging innovators and entrepreneurs across the campus to foster interdisciplinary and integrated learning,” said UND President Robert Kelley in a statement. “The School will also provide hands-on learning experiences in innovation, entrepreneurship, and entrepreneur capital — helping students develop skills that will contribute to North Dakota’s entrepreneurial spirit and thriving economy.”

Approval of the School of Entrepreneurship comes at a time when the UND College of Business & Public Administration (CoBPA) is becoming more technology-focused with the goal of creating a School of Entrepreneurship of the highest quality. UND’s Center for Innovation, which recently received the National Business Incubation Association’s 2014 Incubator Innovation Award, will help provide the outreach for the new School of Entrepreneurship.

“We are extremely excited to further develop cross-disciplinary approaches to entrepreneurship education,” said Dennis Elbert, CoBPA dean, who will be joining the faculty of the School of Entrepreneurship. “This next step allows us to be on the true forefront of entrepreneurial education.”