The entrepreneurial program at the University is receiving national recognition. For the first time this year, the program is ranked in the top 25 by Fortune Magazine, The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.

Tony Mendes is the executive director of the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership. He says the University and community provide a lot of resources for young entreperneurs.

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“If you have a desire at some point in your career to be entrepreneurial, we want to be sure that when you’re on our campus that you have the opportunity to experience that and to have a good education and experiential opportunities in entrepreneurship,” Mendes said.

The academy currently offers workshops, guest lectures and opportunities to find internships and work with entrepreneurs locally. An entrepreneurial minor is expected to be offered by the end of this year.

“They’re really starting to build kind of entrepreneurship stuff into lots of different majors so you don’t have to be a business majopg to be an entrepreneur,” said University spokeswoman Robin Kaler.

The University has also started the first chapter of Entrepreneurs without Borders in Illinois.