Sources: Jeffrey Hornsby, 785-532-1301, jhornsby@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/entrepreneurship/hornsby.html;
Yar Ebadi, 785-532-7227, ebadi@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/ebadibio.html;
and Olivia Blanco, 785-532-2753, oblanco@k-state.edu
Related news: http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/feb11/usasbeaward21511.html
News release prepared by: Emily Vietti, 785-532-2535, evietti@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011

A TRUE SELF-STARTER: HORNSBY GARNERS PRESTIGIOUS ENTREPRENEURSHIP FELLOWSHIP

MANHATTAN -- In acceptance speeches, award winners often say it's an honor just to be nominated. But to be nominated for a prestigious fellowship by your best friend and mentor? That's not just an honor, it's humbling.

Jeffrey Hornsby, director of Kansas State University's Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship, has been named a Justin G. Longnecker Fellow by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, also known as USASBE. He is one of three individuals to earn the honor this year, and joins an elite group. Only 62 Longnecker Fellows have been elected in the past 25 years.

Hornsby was nominated for the fellowship by his longtime mentor and friend, Donald Kuratko, an entrepreneurship professor at University of Indiana-Bloomington. The two men have known each other since Kuratko showed up at Hornsby's house with cookies to welcome him to Ball State University in 1987. The two men have been friends and colleagues ever since, writing four books, more than 50 articles and numerous conference papers together.

"I'm really pleased about the nomination," Hornsby said. "Of course, I wanted to be a part of this elite group in this organization that I've been heavily involved in, though I never would have self-nominated. It was really neat to hear that Donald Kuratko had nominated me."

Hornsby has been involved with the entrepreneurship association since 1990, including a turn as its senior vice president of programming.

"Dr. Hornsby is among the college's most creative and hardworking faculty members," said Yar Ebadi, dean of the College of Business Administration. "His recognition by the prestigious USASBE as a Justin G. Longnecker Fellow demonstrates how highly his colleagues regard both his scholarship and stature as a professor of entrepreneurship. As director of the K-State Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship, he's doing an exceptional job in developing an entrepreneurial program of excellence throughout the K-State community. His work is serving to advance K-State, the College of Business Administration and our land-grant mission by enhancing multidisciplinary, collaborative relationships and promoting innovative programs on both the Manhattan and Olathe campuses. We're proud he's received this well deserved recognition for his outstanding professional accomplishments."

"The recognition of a lot of hard work is a critical element of the academic process," Hornsby said. "To be successful in academia, you have to seize opportunities and forge down a path of getting involved. The administration wants us to be involved as well; fellowships like these are good for the university and promote our goal of becoming a top 50 public research university by 2025."