Dean’s Welcome

Welcome to The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center — one of the many centers and programs that make Columbia Business School such a dynamic place to pursue a graduate business education. The Lang Center’s mission is at the heart of the School’s mission to educate the next generation of global business leaders.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the U.S. economy is a rich culture of entrepreneurship. This culture includes several key features: institutions that protect property rights and reward innovation; openness to new ideas and to domestic and foreign competition; tolerance for risk; and flexibility in terms of capital allocation, management, and workforce organization.

American graduate business education has played a substantial role in fostering this entrepreneurial environment. At Columbia Business School, entrepreneurial thinking — in identifying, valuing, and capturing opportunity — is an essential part of all aspects of the academic experience. In courses covering a wide range of subject areas, our faculty members teach students how to identify strategic opportunities.

At Columbia, business education is not just about the technical mastery of material — although students can expect to spend many late nights cramming for exams. The real focus of our teaching is training students to think outside the box. Heterodox thinking is what has made the U.S. economy such a powerful force for entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth, and it is also what makes a Columbia Business School education such a worthwhile investment.

I invite you to explore all the resources the Lang Center has to offer to Columbia Business School constituents and the larger business community.

Glenn Hubbard
Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics
Columbia Business School