Upton Joins Kansas City Center As Scholar-in-Residence

by Alan Hunt

Dr. Nancy Upton of Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business has joined the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Inc. as a Scholar-in-Residence for the 1995-96 academic year.
The Center, a nonprofit educational institution, encourages entrepreneurial leadership through educational and support activities. The Kauffman Foundation was created by one of the country's most recognized entrepreneurs, the late Ewing M. Kauffman, founder of Marion Laboratories, chairman of Marion Merrell Dow Inc. and owner of the Kansas City Royals baseball team.
Upton, who was named Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year for 1995 by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, is completing several research and educational projects related to growth-oriented entrepreneurs.
She serves as director of Baylor's John F. Baugh Center for Entrepreneurship and founded the Institute for Family Business at Baylor in 1987. A member of the Baylor faculty since 1983, Upton holds the Ben H. Williams Professorship in Entrepreneurship.
Earlier this year, the Kauffman Foundation recognized Upton's contributions to the field of entrepreneurship through her selection as a Top Ten Finalist for its coveted Entrepreneurship Educator Award. The foundation commended her for "outstanding work in the field of entrepreneurship education."
Recognized as a leading authority in the field of entrepreneurship and family business, Upton writes a monthly column on family business for the Austin Business Journal and has received numerous accolades for her innovative projects and research.
Under her direction, Baylor's Institute for Family Business annually recognizes Texas' top family businesses through its Texas Family Business Award. The program honors family firms which demonstrate strong business and family values.
Upton also directs the institute's Family Business Forum in metropolitan areas of Texas, including Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. The forums, offering membership to family-owned and family-managed businesses, sponsor presentations of personal and financial challenges facing the family firm.
For more information, call Upton at 755-2265.