NW Iowa News

Dordt College issued the following announcement on Dec. 4.

Dordt University has established an entrepreneurship minor that will be available to non-business majors beginning in fall 2021.

The creation of this minor stems from the new K and K Dooyema Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which was established to support students, alumni, and the greater community in serving God’s kingdom through commerce, mission, and church and community support. This minor will offer a suite of core courses in management, marketing, accounting, and entrepreneurship, and elective courses in areas such as selling and retailing, business and technical writing, interpersonal communication, business computer literacy, and more.

“If a student has an interest in entrepreneurship, we see this minor helping to round out their skillset, so they are better equipped to serve in their profession,” says Jeff Kelly, director of the center and a business administration professor.

The program seeks to build confidence in students, encouraging them to think boldly and innovatively, offering meaningful and relevant solutions to the communities they serve.

“We believe that both for profit and non-profit organizations will benefit from our graduates entering the professional world equipped with an entrepreneurial lens,” says Kelly. “Even if a student is not interested in creating their own business, or other service related organization, they could still have an enormous impact on where they serve by having a mindset that is creative, innovative, and willing to look at things differently.”

Dordt’s new minor was pioneered by Kelly, who led the establishment of the curriculum, pairing his wealth of business experience alongside research of the competitive landscape of other entrepreneurship programs.

“It’s unusual for a new faculty member to develop new curricular options during their first year,” says Dr. Leah Zuidema, vice president for academic affairs. “It’s especially fitting that in his first semester, Jeff Kelly is showing his own entrepreneurial spirit by creating and promoting a new minor for Dordt students.”

Kelly is currently developing a separate entrepreneurship path that will support business majors and will take into account students’ existing curriculum options as well as introducing new courses of study.

As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Dordt, located in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.

Original source: https://www.dordt.edu/news/59450