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NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Color or black-and-white photograph of Arnold Cooper available.
Purdue business professor invests his winnings in his students WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ã A Purdue University professor who has long been popular with his students now will give them a bit more ã the $50,000 he just won from an international award for his lifelong research on entrepreneurship.
Arnold C. Cooper, the Louis A. Weil Jr. Professor of Management in the Purdue Krannert School of Management, has been awarded the 1997 International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research. The award was made public Monday (4/28). He and his wife, Jean, said they plan to donate the $50,000 toward scholarships for Krannert students.
"This is almost like winning a Nobel prize in entrepreneurial research," said Dean Dennis Weidenaar. "Not only is it a substantial monetary award, but it's even awarded in Stockholm. Purdue and the Krannert School are very proud of Professor Cooper's award and his dedication to both his research and his students."
The award, presented annually to a person who has made a scientific contribution to the field, is given by the Swedish National Board for Industrial and Technical Development, the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research and Telia AB, the leading telecommunications operator in Sweden. This is the second time the award has been presented.
Business selected Cooper for his three-plus decades of research and contributions to the field of entrepreneurship and small business. In a prepared statement about the selection, the council writes:
"Dr. Cooper's pioneering work on technical entrepreneurship, new technology-based firms, and incubator organizations has significantly enhanced our understanding of entrepreneurial phenomena. He continues to make important contributions on a wide range of topics, recently on new venture performance prediction. Dr. Cooper is inspiring a new generation of researchers in a field which today has become of major interest for policy-makers all over the world."
Cooper says receiving the award is an honor and a real surprise. "I've worked in this field for over 30 years. It's very gratifying to be recognized," he said. "Entrepreneurship has been around since the beginning of civilization, but as an academic field of study, it's relatively young ã about 20 years old. So I'm thrilled to be a part of the explosion of research at Purdue and campuses around the world.
"Entrepreneurship and small businesses contribute quite a lot to the marketplace. For instance, they offer career opportunities, diversify regional economies, create new entrepreneurs and help keep innovation alive."
The award consists of a statuette, "God's Hand," created by Carl Milles, and $50,000. The award ceremony will be Sept. 25 in Stockholm, Sweden. In addition, Cooper will address several conferences and participate in a lecture tour in Sweden Sept. 21-26.
Cooper, who joined Purdue in 1963, has won numerous teaching awards for his classes in strategic management and entrepreneurship. He has served as a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School, Stanford University, The Wharton School, the Manchester Business School in England, and at IMEDE Management Development Institute in Switzerland. A Purdue alumnus, Cooper graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1955 and a master's degree in industrial management in 1957. He earned his doctorate in business administration from Harvard in 1962.
Sources: Arnold C. Cooper (765) 494-4401
Dennis J. Weidenaar (765) 494-4366
Writer: Kate R. Walker (765) 494-2073; e-mail, [email protected]
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