The Marshall University Lewis College of Business will offer a new entrepreneurship major in West Virginia beginning next fall.
This new program will prepare the next generation of students for economic change in the state, according to Dr. Jonathan Butler, assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the college.
“The continued economic viability of the state really depends on creating an entrepreneurial mindset across the state. If West Virginia is going to experience any kind of growth, there is a high likelihood it will be within the state and driven by entrepreneurs,” Butler said. “I don’t think we can expect large major companies to relocate to West Virginia in order to save us – we need to be proactive.”
Butler said the major in entrepreneurship will help cultivate growth and prosperity fostered by our own natural resources in young, creative and innovative people.
Joseph Kory Chinn-Roof, 28, from Ceredo, West Virginia, will graduate in May with his bachelor’s degree in management, but has plans to return in the fall to major in entrepreneurship.
“With the huge drop in coal production in West Virginia, now is the time for entrepreneurs to shine. We as a state have to find a way to create new opportunities. This is done through entrepreneurship,” Chinn-Roof said. “Entrepreneurship has done more than teach me how to generate novel and useful ideas. It’s taught me the importance of creativity and surrounding myself in a network of individuals that make it possible to complete tasks that seem impossible, no matter what career path I decide to pursue.”
To learn more about Marshall’s new entrepreneurship major, contact Butler at butlerjo@marshall.edu or call 304-696-5434. For more information on programs offered through the Lewis College of Business, visit marshall.edu/cob online.
