Nominations Sought for NACCE Awards; Student Essay Contest Open for Entries

Springfield, MA – August 4, 2009 – The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) is seeking nominations for three award programs as well as entrants for its annual student essay contest. The winners of all four competitions will be announced at the 7^th Annual NACCE Conference, to be held October 11-14, 2009, in Chicago, IL. Award nominations and student essays must be submitted by September 1, 2009.

This year NACCE and Accelper Consulting have founded the NACCE Innovation Award to recognize entrepreneurship centers and their positive impact on the communities they serve. Each center will receive a plaque recognizing successful deployment of innovation and entrepreneurship practices and creation of new jobs. In addition, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will receive complimentary Master Business Innovator Certification Train-the-Trainer sessions valued at $4000.

Two other award programs are being given for the fourth time. The Entrepreneur of the Year award honors an entrepreneur and the community college they attended. The award pays airfare and hotel expenses for the winner of the NACCE Entrepreneur of the Year Award to attend the 7th Annual NACCE Conference. In addition, NACCE will award $1,000 to the winner's alma mater (community college) to support entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship Faculty of the Year Award honors an educator who has inspired students. The winner receives $1,000, plus paid airfare and hotel expenses to attend the 7th Annual NACCE Conference. New this year, all nominees will be recognized in a general session ceremony.

In the Student Essay Contest, students are asked to write essays describing how entrepreneurship education at community colleges benefits students. The winner receives $1,000, plus paid airfare and hotel expenses to attend the 7th Annual NACCE Conference.

For more information on how to participate in these programs, visit the awards section of the conference portion of the NACCE website at http://www.nacce.com.

About the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship

The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) connects community college administrators and faculty with knowledge and successful practices regarding entrepreneurial thinking, entrepreneurship education, and student business incubation. NACCE holds an annual conference, hosts a dynamic listserv, develops Web resources such as shared entrepreneurship curricula and syllabi for faculty, creates guides in beginning and sustaining entrepreneurship and student business incubation programs, as well as, tips for grant proposals specific to entrepreneurial endeavors at community colleges. To learn more, visit http://www.nacce.com.