The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE), formerly Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation was founded in 1991 by William (Bill) Sherrill.
After being injured and discharged at Iwo Jima while serving in the Marine Corp, Bill Sherrill found himself back in school, for the first time since 8th grade, at the University of Houston and eventually Harvard. He was twice appointed as a Governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, has served as Director of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), President of Associates Corporation of North America, Director of Gulf and Western Industries, Inc., as well as the author of “It Makes Me Wonder.” Bill returned to his alma mater to make a difference in education.
In 2007, after nearly a decade of supporting student scholarships, Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff generously gave $3 million to WCE, and in return were honored with the center being renamed after them. One staple in the program is the trip to Omaha, Nebraska where the students get the opportunity to meet Warren Buffett. This is all due to Melvyn’s close relationship with Buffett that began when Buffett acquired Melvyn’s company, Star Furniture, in 1997. Cyvia and the late Melvyn have invested so much of their lives into this program and we cannot thank them enough.
Also in 2007, Dave Cook became involved with WCE as a mentor. Dave’s inspiring background with Scott Paper Company in new business development, regional sales management, customer development and more made him a key piece of the program.
From there he became the Director of Mentoring Programs in 2009 and then Director of WCE in 2017. Since the day Dave became involved in the program, he was determined to make a difference in the students’ lives both personally and professionally.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston Bauer College of Business – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
WCE is a four-semester undergraduate program at the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston for students who are interested in owning their own business. We teach our students every step from the inception of an idea to the execution both in and outside of the classroom.
They take courses such as Revenue, Purpose, Entrepreneurial Strategy, Leadership, Implementation and more. The underlying core of WCE is built on our four values: Purpose, Action, Relationship, and Discipline. One of our main focuses is experiential learning. Aside from the classroom work, our students are constantly put into real-world situations/simulations.
Here are just a few examples:
-Cadence Banking Night- our students learn the process of getting a loan for their business
-Porter Hedges Mock Negotiation Night- our students are given case studies and are guided by lawyers on the negotiation process in buying/selling a business
-Silicon Valley Trip- our students tour Silicon Valley and experience the startup world
-Intellectual Property Team- our students build business plans around licensed technologies, compete in business plan competitions around the world for funding, and attempt to bring them into the market
-Wolffest- a competition in which our students must plan and implement a 3-day pop up restaurant on campus and are evaluated on revenues, profits, quality of operations and execution of the plan (this past year they raised $315,000 that will fund student scholarships)
I believe what we are most proud of and what sets us apart from other undergraduate entrepreneurship programs go hand in hand- our approach of ‘head and heart’. Our Director, Dave Cook, has fundamentally changed and improved the way our students learn. This ‘head and heart’ approach means our students learn about how to start and operate a business while also learning who they are, their purpose in life, and how to reach their dreams. This personal relationship that Dave has formed with the students and has encouraged them to form with each other has been one of the most incredible things that has happened to this program.
WCE is not just a place to learn, it is a family of aspiring entrepreneurs who would do anything for each other in order for them to succeed. Upon graduating from the program, 100% of the students say that this program has completely changed their lives for the better, both personally and professionally. This is all due to the unwavering dedication of Dave, Cyvia and Melvyn, Bill Sherrill, Edward Blair and the countless mentors that contribute to our students’ lives.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
WCE is constantly changing in order to improve the educational experience of our students. The program is so fluid that this year alone, there will be 17 changes that were not performed in last years’ curriculum. Every year as a class is nearing graduation, we evaluate each individuals’ experience in the program in order to find out what their favorite experiences were and what we can improve upon. Our goal is to make each graduating class better than the last. This always seems impossible after seeing the incredible things our students experience and the way it changes their lives, but it gets better and better each year.
Dave has had one main goal for the future: every student that gets into the program will receive a $5,000 scholarship. Because of our generous donors and the money raised from Wolffest, we are already able to give over half of the student’s scholarships. The program is so demanding and time consuming that some students have to quit their jobs in order to complete the courses. We also have such a diverse class of students each year from all different backgrounds and the need for financial aid is a problem we want to solve.
Dave’s goal is to reach the $5 million mark in our endowment scholarship fund in order for every single student who gets into the program to receive $5,000. We are currently at $2.6 million and hoping to reach our goal very soon!
Contact Info:
- Address: 4742 Calhoun Rd. Houston, TX 77204-6021 (Physical Address)
4750 Calhoun Rd. Houston, TX 77204-6021 (Mailing Address) - Website: https://www.bauer.uh.edu/centers/wce/
- Phone: 713-743-4752
- Email: amoya@bauer.uh.edu, mdmunoz@bauer.uh.edu
Image Credit:
Nicki Evans Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
