Intellectual Entrepreneurship: An Authentic Foundation for Higher Education Reform

The "blurb" we wrote for this Planning for Higher Education article says "Our relationship with the traditions and purpose of a humanistic education, it appears, are at odds with the career environment most students inhabit after graduation." The authors, Gary D. Beckman and Richard A. Chewitz, provide case studies of innovative entrepreneurship initiatives at the University of Texas, Austin, as well as background and discussion of the concept of "entrepreneurship education" in academic programming. "From our perspective, entrepreneurship—broadly conceived—is an intrinsic human right to change the status quo, and intellectual entrepreneurship is a philosophy and pedagogy to exercise this act by educating citizen-scholars—agents of change who own, are accountable for, and put their knowledge to work for the betterment of themselves and society. As we collaborate in the development of campuswide efforts to bring entrepreneurial thinking to the arts and sciences, we have the opportunity to envision entrepreneurship education in an authentic manner that is sustainable across campus, relevant to communities, and, most importantly, empowering to stakeholders."