Troy, N.Y. — Entrepreneur magazine has ranked the technological entrepreneurship program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management and Technology sixth in the nation. The rankings are posted on the magazine’s Web site and will be published in the April 2005 issue.

The “Top 10 National/Regional Programs” ranking is judged by directors, faculty and alumni of programs across the country, and places the Lally School among “the top tier of the very best programs in the country,” according to the magazine.

Rankings are based on more than 30 criteria including course offerings, teaching and research faculty, business-community outreach, research centers and institutes, advisory boards, off-campus programs, entrepreneurial initiatives, degrees and certificates offered, and alumni evaluations.  This year, business plan competitions that “give winners access to financiers with the possibility of significant funding” also helped determine rankings.

The Tech Valley Collegiate Business Plan Competition, sponsored by the Lally School’s Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship, offers winners up to $50,000 in cash and prizes and the opportunity to present their plans to investors through regional Venture B-Plan forums held throughout the United States in cooperation with the Rensselaer’s Incubator Program and Alumni Association.  More than 400 Lally alumni participate in the Rensselaer Entrepreneurs Network (REN), a global network of entrepreneurs who started successful ventures.

“The Entrepreneur ranking is an affirmation of the Lally School’s commitment to educating the next generation of business innovators with the entrepreneurial mindset to succeed in new ventures as well as established companies in today’s technology-driven global economy,” said Iftekhar Hasan, acting Lally School dean.  “Our excellent faculty, seven of whom are recognized scholars in entrepreneurship, provide the experiential learning required to develop tomorrow’s innovators, as we participate in The Rensselaer Plan to ‘change the world’ for the good of society.”

Through the Severino Center, the Lally School offers startup companies access to support mechanisms at every level — from advice and assistance to the facility infrastructure needed to help fund and grow a startup business. Rensselaer has a strong track record of student teams developing their business concepts in class, moving on to create new companies and products at Rensselaer’s business incubator, and as they gain traction in the marketplace, moving to facilities at the Rensselaer Technology Park.  A class assignment in the 2004 M.B.A. program led to the successful startup Orca Gear, which is featured in an article that accompanies the rankings.

Technological entrepreneurship — the ability to manage risk and translate new knowledge into commercial opportunity — has long been a strategic focus at Rensselaer. President Shirley Ann Jackson has established the position of vice provost of entrepreneurship to oversee the infusion of entrepreneurship across all of the Institute curricula. Guided by the goals of The Rensselaer Plan, the university is enhancing scientific and technological entrepreneurship across the spectrum of its programs in education, research, technology commercialization, new venture creation, and regional economic development.

Entrepreneur magazine researched more than 700 entrepreneurship programs for the list released today. Colleges have been ranked by tiers and listed alphabetically within each tier.

About Rensselaer’s Lally School
The Lally School of Management and Technology was founded in 1963 as an integral part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Building on a heritage of over 180 years of leadership in science and engineering, Rensselaer's Lally School is dedicated to advancing business through innovation. The curriculum is designed to produce leaders who combine creative passion with the ability to integrate technology across business functions. Faculty emphasize the value of hands-on experience available through campus resources such as the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and a world-class business incubator center. Rensselaer's Lally School offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in management, doctoral programs in management and technology, and an executive MBA program.  Visit lallyschool.rpi.edu.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu