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UPIKE professor receives national recognition for entrepreneurship research

Research centers on Eastern Kentucky high school seniors

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2016) — University of Pikeville professor David Snow, D.M., received notification that his research paper, “Entrepreneurship Elsewhere: Examining the Entrepreneurial Characteristics of Eastern Kentucky Adolescents,” has been accepted for presentation at the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) annual conference in Philadelphia scheduled for January 2017.

David Snow
David Snow

Snow directs the Kentucky Innovation Network Pikeville office, SBI program and business competitions and is an associate professor of business at the University of Pikeville-Coleman College of Business. Snow was honored in April by the Small Business Institute.

USASBE is the largest independent, professional, academic organization in the world dedicated to advancing the discipline of entrepreneurship. With more than 1,000 members from universities and colleges, for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations and the public sector, USASBE is a diverse mix of professionals that share a common commitment to fostering entrepreneurial attitudes and behaviors.

The paper is based upon research conducted by Snow and Justin Prater, assistant director of the Kentucky Innovation Network office at UPIKE. The research indicates Eastern Kentucky high school seniors possess low levels of entrepreneurial attitude and the supporting factors of creative tendency, need for achievement and calculated risk-taking. Data collected also shows as much as 54 percent of Eastern Kentucky seniors plan to leave the region after graduation to pursue education and career with no intention of returning.

To reverse this, Snow advocates for the creation of high school entrepreneurship programs across the region. He currently teaches the subject at the collegiate undergraduate and graduate levels. This fall he and Prater delivered a program to seven Eastern Kentucky high schools, which culminated in a regional pitch competition at the Coleman College of Business.

“These young people developed very innovative business ideas,” said Snow. “Eastern Kentucky students have the potential to be highly entrepreneurial. They simply need the exposure to the curriculum and knowledgeable leadership to provide guidance.”