UW-Eau Claire receives global recognition for entrepreneurship, engagement

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has been recognized with an international award for entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education.

Chancellor James Schmidt and Dr. Michael Carney, assistant chancellor for strategic partnerships and program development, accepted the third-place award for Engaged University of the Year June 27 at the Global Triple E Awards in Barcelona, Spain. The awards presented by the Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) recognize efforts by universities around the world to foster change and emphasize their role in their communities and ecosystems.

UW-Eau Claire was the only university from North America named as a finalist for the global award. Other finalists were the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, Management and Science University in Malaysia, Uniminuto in Colombia and Munster Technological University in Ireland.

“I am immensely proud that UW-Eau Claire has been recognized as a global leader in entrepreneurship and engagement along with some of the top universities in the world, both public and private,” Schmidt says. “This award shows the immense power of the innovative collaborations that the university embraces with our partners to help make our community and region a better place.”

UW-Eau Claire has a history of community engagement and collaboration exemplified by the $700 million in collaboratively funded facilities projects over the past decade. The projects include the $60 million Pablo Center at the Confluence, the $122 million County Materials Complex and the $340.3 million Science and Health Sciences Building.

UW-Eau Claire is one of three universities in the world with a collaborative research agreement with Mayo Clinic Health System, working to find joint solutions to pressing health care problems. A workforce innovation initiative to combat economic, health care and workforce challenges was bolstered by a $9.4 million grant from the state of Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. in 2021.

During the Triple Helix and ACEEU conference in conjunction with the awards, Schmidt participated as a panelist in a conversation about the changing landscape of higher education, urging universities to become more entrepreneurial, sustainable, engaged within their regions and able to react quickly to changing landscapes. Other panelists were from universities in Canada, the United Kingdom and South Africa.