The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has helped power UMD to sustaining high placements in the 2017 “Best Schools for Entrepreneurship” rankings by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship Magazine.

According to the recently released “Women in the Workplace 2016” study conducted by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey, women remain underrepresented at every level in corporate America, from entry-level to c-suite positions. They are also underrepresented in the entrepreneurial world, launching only 41 percent of new businesses on average in the last two decades, with that number falling. But the Robert H. Smith School of Business is committed to helping boost the numbers of women in business and women creating startups.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland has appointed Liz Sara as Chair of its Board of Advisors for the 2016-18 academic years. She becomes the first female chair in its 30-year history. She officially took the helm at the Oct. 5, 2016, board meeting.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Startup founders looking for customers eventually run out of friends and relatives. "Once they get past that first handful of contacts, they don’t know how to get in front of the market in a bigger way," says Liz Sara, an angel investor and founder of consulting firm Best Marketing.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — The Fontainebleau in Miami Beach provided a suitable venue for the National Parking Association’s most recent convention for at least two reasons. Besides the luxury accommodations, the buzzing nightlife at the hotel creates one of the hardest valet parking jobs in the country.

In late April, the Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted the Smith Entrepreneurship Research Conference (SERC), an annual conference designed to highlight important entrepreneurship-focused research papers. The invitation-only conference, which is attended by prominent researchers and rising stars, helps researchers determine best practices in linking researchers’ findings to practitioners’ goals. SERC discussions are focused on relevant social, economic and organizational issues in the entrepreneurship field.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has launched a startup podcast called Bootstrapped. The podcast features founders, investors and serial entrepreneurs from the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia startup scene. While the podcast covers many aspects of startup life, the heart of the show focuses on funding from both the founder and investor perspectives, thus the name, Bootstrapped.

Michael D. Dingman, benefactor and namesake of the Dingman Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, was on campus May 5, 2016, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the center and honor and recognize the school’s vibrant community of entrepreneurs.

On May 5, 2016, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business is set to host the second annual “Rudy Awards.” Named for Dingman’s founder and former Smith School Dean Rudolph “Rudy” Lamone, this annual banquet was created to honor the vibrant network of student and alumni entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and many others who contribute to the center’s continued success. 

Last year, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship launched the third and final phase of its Fearless Founders startup accelerator program, Terp Startup. Happening every summer, this incubator phase is designed to give students a means to focus exclusively on growing their startup. During the course of the program, the center provides students with a $3,500 stipend and access to mentors who will help them grow their business.