FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR FREE ENTERPRISE & ENTREPRENEURSHIP NAMED TO EXCLUSIVE LIST

LAKELAND, Fla., Oct. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Southern College is proud to announce that Entrepreneur-In-Residence Justin Heacock, the College's Director of the Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship, has been named to Business Observer's exclusive 40 Under 40 List.

Heacock, 32, is in his second year as the head of the Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship. Under Heacock's leadership, the Center has helped several Florida Southern students earn more than $30,000 for business ideas.

The Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship's mission is to instill an entrepreneurial mindset and reinforce free enterprise principles for Florida Southern College and the Central Florida community that result in the creation of new ventures and innovations. The Center helps create an entrepreneurial mindset and reinforces free enterprise principles through academic programming, experiential learning, and student-driven engagement.

"It's a good feeling to be recognized for the hard work you do," Heacock said. "Typically, in the academic world, we are sometimes disconnected from the business community, so it's good to see awards like this to allow individuals from all parts of the community to be recognized."

Business Observer has printed its 40 Under 40 issue of the magazine since 2003 with the goal of finding, honoring, and celebrating the best of the best of the up-and-comers.

To be honored as a 40 Under 40 recipient, applicants must demonstrate success in their field. Another key factor Business Observer looks for is people that "hustle, go after it and create their success. People who are willing to go against conventional wisdom, and the movers and shakers that, if you're new to town, you have to meet," according to the nomination page on its website.

The 40 Under 40 award is open to entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals in any field or industry, including nonprofits, from Polk through Collier counties.

Heacock attended the 40 Under 40 Awards celebration on Oct. 13 in Lakewood Ranch and is preparing to head to Las Vegas to accept four more awards for the College potentially.

From Oct. 27-30, at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Heacock will attend the annual convention for the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC).

Heacock said the Center is up for four awards but will not know if Florida Southern won until the awards ceremony on Oct. 29.

Florida Southern's Center for Free Enterprise & Entrepreneurship is nominated in the following categories:

• Outstanding Emerging Entrepreneurship Center, schools with less than 5,000 students
• Outstanding Student Engagement & Leadership, schools with less than 5,000 students
• Outstanding Contributions to Venture Creation
• Exceptional Activities in Entrepreneurship Across Disciplines

Florida Southern will be up against schools worldwide in the final two categories.

The annual GCEC Awards showcase and celebrate the best of university entrepreneurship. The nine distinct categories allow centers and leaders to select areas where they feel they are making the most impact.  

Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private college in the state. The College maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 70+ undergraduate and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, nursing, and physical therapy. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning, and boasts 30 NCAA Division II National Championships. Florida Southern is ranked at #8 among the "Best Regional Universities in the South" by U.S. News & World Report in its 2023 "Best Colleges" guide and is included in The Princeton Review's 2023 Best 388 Colleges guide and the "Fiske Guide to Colleges 2023." The 2022-2023 Colleges of Distinction guidebook praises Florida Southern's AACSB-accredited Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise alongside the College's School of Education and its Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Poets&Quants, U.S. News & World Report, Fortune, and The Princeton Review further laud the Barney Barnett School of Business and Free Enterprise and the Ann Blanton Edwards School of Nursing and Health Sciences as foremost programs in the nation for business and nursing education. Home to the world's largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, FSC has appeared on The Princeton Review's top 20 "Most Beautiful Campus" national listing for 13 consecutive years. Connect with Florida Southern College.

SOURCE Florida Southern College