Management Faculty Member to Lead University Entrepreneurship Programs

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Carol Reeves, associate professor of management, has been appointed to associate vice provost of entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Carol Reeves, associate professor of management in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, will join the university office of research and economic development as the associate vice provost for entrepreneurship, effective Jan. 1, 2011.

In her new role, Reeves will promote entrepreneurship and economic development in the region and across the state of Arkansas. She will work with faculty and students in all colleges at the University of Arkansas to encourage the start-up of new companies based on university research. Reeves, who also holds the Cecil and Gwen Cupp Applied Professorship in Entrepreneurship, has worked closely with the University of Arkansas Technology Licensing Office and Technology Development Foundation to develop student-led start-ups, and she will continue to work with these units to support entrepreneurship among faculty and students.

Reeves has built a phenomenal track record of student wins in the Donald W. Reynolds Arkansas Governor’s Cup and national business plan competitions, and has successfully mentored five student-led start-up companies over the last five years. With each new start-up company, the region and state add to the number of 21^st century knowledge-based jobs available. She will continue to be active as a Walton College faculty member and student business plan mentor.

“Dr. Reeves has brought international recognition to the university through her work with student entrepreneurs,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “We all enjoy putting students first at the University of Arkansas, but Carol helps them place first as well. We’re very lucky to have her guiding and mentoring our student entrepreneurial teams. Her new position will give the university an even broader reach to support the state’s economic and technological growth.”

Provost Sharon L. Gaber, the vice chancellor for academic affairs, said, “Appointing Carol Reeves to this new position will greatly enhance the university’s efforts to expand the economy of Arkansas with new knowledge-based businesses and jobs. She represents a good balance between teaching, research and service that we all strive to accomplish. Her promotion to associate vice provost for entrepreneurship is a natural continuation of that balanced approach to work and will serve the university well.”

Reeves has been an exceptional teacher. She was recently awarded the Arkansas Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching. She was also selected for the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy this year.

Reeves founded the S.A.K.E. program (Students Acquiring Knowledge through Enterprise), which is a not-for-profit business operated by a select group of students in the Walton College. The program offers students the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of business enterprise operations and is a part of the management curriculum.

Jim Rankin, vice provost for research and economic development, said, “We are very excited to have Carol join our staff. She has an amazing track record in student-led start-ups and will be a very important asset to entrepreneurs across the state.”

In the spring of 2010, one of Reeves’ student teams, BiologicsMD, won the Grand Prize in the Rice University Business Plan Competition and was selected as “Global Champion” at the Global Moot Corp Competition at the University of Texas. Two other graduate teams she mentored this spring, Silicon Solar Solutions and InnerVision, also excelled in national business plan competitions. In 2010, the students she mentored, with Walton College faculty members Mark Zweig and Jeff Amerine, won more than $900,000 in cash, awards and in-kind prizes.

Maria Haley, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said, “The expansion of entrepreneurship and knowledge-based jobs is one of five key goals in Governor Beebe’s Strategic Plan for Economic Development. Carol is a great asset to Arkansas’ entrepreneurial community, and her new role will only enhance her ability to assist the growth of entrepreneurship and the knowledge-based economy in Arkansas. I continue to be excited about the University of Arkansas’ commitment to economic development.”

Reeves holds a Bachelor of Science degree in political science and international relations from Georgia Southern College, a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the University of South Carolina, and a doctoral degree in strategic management and entrepreneurship from the University of Georgia. After receiving her doctorate, Reeves spent two years on the faculty at the University of Miami. She also spent several years working for grant consulting firms and health care providers prior to entering the doctoral program.

Reeves teaches entrepreneurship and new venture development, international business, strategic management and negotiation at the University of Arkansas. Her research interests include the impact of intimate partner violence on the workplace, factors that encourage the development of knowledge-based companies, and pedagogical techniques that enhance entrepreneurship education.

Reeves and Walton College professor Anne O'Leary-Kelly received grants of $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to study the impact of family violence on the workplace and the mitigating effects of financial self-sufficiency. Her research has been published in journals such as the Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Perspectives, and Journal of Small Business Management.