The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship in the C. T. Bauer College of Business located on the fifth floor of the Insperity Classroom and Business Building on Nov. 12, 2024. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
On Tuesday, UH’s Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship in the C. T. Bauer College of Business was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the best undergraduate entrepreneurship program for the sixth year in a row, according to recent 2025 Princeton Review rankings.
Previously, WCE has earned this title a total of nine times, and has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2, 16 of the last 18 years, according to an article by UH.
Students, faculty and donors gathered in Melcher Hall, where interim Dean of C. T. Bauer College of Business Dr. Praveen Kumar made the official announcements.
“We’ve been No. 1 or No. 2 for a long time,” said department chair and professor Edward Blair. “To be number one for six years in a row is really remarkable, and I don’t really have a lot to say other than that it took a lot of hard work by a lot of people.”
WCE was founded as a Center in 1991 with a cohort of 30 to 40 students. It was established in 1995 as a major in entrepreneurship under the Bachelor of Business Administration degree by the Texas State Committee for Higher Education.
Initially, WCE started as a major and recently opened as a minor to all the students two years ago. As of now, the Center has about 400 minors, most of which are non-business majors, Blair said.
Today, students from about 95 majors attend classes at WCE and create businesses under the guidance of seasoned mentors.
The banner outside WCE announcing them to become No. 1 for the sixth consecutive year on Nov. 12, 2024. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
Both the faculty and students feel grateful for Cyvia and the late Melvyn Wolff who endowed and supported WCE. Melvyn Wolff was also an alumni and graduated from Bauer in 1953.
The announcement about the endowment was made by Renu Khator on the morning of her first day as UH’s President and Chancellor in 2008.
The crowd also included the class of 2009 Entrepreneurship students and former UH Regents Michael Cemo and Morrie Abramson along with the then UH System Board of Regents Chair Welcome Wilson.
“We are excited, enthused and so grateful for the stakeholders and our students,” said executive director Dave Cook. “We’re looking forward to taking what we do in the Wolf Center and spreading it around campus.”
The Princeton Review ranks nearly 300 US business schools with entrepreneurship programs, annually. It evaluates approximately 40 data points, including career outcomes, business success and experiential opportunities.
One of the most significant measures of success is the number of businesses that are created and WCE alumni have created more than 2,000 businesses in the last 10 years.
UH was followed by University of Texas at Austin and Babson College at the No. 2 and No. 3 ranks respectively.
“Holding the No. 1 ranking for the sixth consecutive year speaks volumes about the commitment and excellence of our students, faculty and staff,” Khator said.
WCE teaches its students to have a Chief Executive Officer’s mentality and perspective. Students take eight courses over the course of three semesters that focus on teaching the business and human development processes.
“I would like to thank the staff because each year they make the curriculum better and better by all the speakers and opportunities they bring in,” said CEO of Wolffest and entrepreneurship and management senior Paulina Gonzalez. “It feels like our hard work paid off and we’re very grateful for this opportunity.”
They also have mentoring programs, mock-term negotiations, retreats, business plan competitions, UH Holiday market and the annual, non-profit event, Wolffest.
“I am so proud of how the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship has grown and how it’s learned from its mistakes,” Cyvia Wolff said. “It’s just gotten better and better and better.”
Students can find more about the curriculum and WCE here.
