Published: October 10, 2023
Rebecca J. White Awarded the Distinguished Legacy Award by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers
Rebecca J. White, professor of entrepreneurship and director of the John P. Lowth Entrepreneurship Center in the Sykes College of Business at The University of Tampa, received the prestigious Legacy Award from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC).
Spanning a 25-year career, White currently holds the Walter Chair of Entrepreneurship and has led UT’s entrepreneurship program since 2009.
White was conferred with the award on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the GCEC conference in Dallas, TX.
The GCEC Legacy Award acknowledges White's seminal contributions to the field of entrepreneurship education, her indefatigable commitment to nurturing entrepreneurial mindsets, and her indelible impact on students, academics and the broader community. GCEC is the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based entrepreneurship programs.
Spanning a 25-year career, White currently holds the Walter Chair of Entrepreneurship and has led UT’s entrepreneurship program since 2009. At the University, she is responsible for curriculum development across several entrepreneurship degree programs and annually facilitates the academic engagement of over 450 students under the mentorship of a dedicated faculty cohort.
Under White’s leadership, the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center has received numerous accolades, including the esteemed NASDAQ Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence Award from the GCEC.
In her nomination packet, White received letters of support from entrepreneurship center directors and professors at schools including The University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, San Diego State University and University of Cincinnati.
Frank Ghannadian, dean of the Sykes College of Business, said that White has been pivotal in curating a comprehensive curriculum that fuses theoretical knowledge with practical industry insights, benefiting hundreds of students annually.
“Her strategic collaborations with industry leaders and startups have ensured a rich ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs, facilitating mentorships, internships and hands-on project opportunities,” Ghannadian said. “The Legacy Award exemplifies her commitment to fostering entrepreneurial talent and bridging academia with the real-world challenges and opportunities of the startup arena.”
Most recently, White earned the Angie Johnson Excellence in Mentorship Award. In 2017, White was honored with the Karl Vesper Pioneer in Entrepreneurship Education Award and the Max S. Wortman Jr. Lifetime Achievement in Entrepreneurship Award. She has also been honored as Professor of the Year by the Women and Minority Group of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) in the same year. Moreover, she was distinguished as a Justin G. Longenecker Fellow of USASBE in 2015. In 2010, she was awarded the Tampa Bay Business Journal Business Woman of the Year in the Education Category. She was also a finalist for the prestigious Athena® Award in 2006 and received the Freedoms Foundation Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education in 2005. In 2003, Ernst and Young distinguished her as the Entrepreneur Supporter of Entrepreneurship.
For more information, contact the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center at ecenter@ut.edu.
