State funding totaling $2.2 million will allow Texas Woman’s University to establish a Center for Women in Business on its Denton campus, with plans to expand on the school’s other campuses in Dallas and Houston.
This new center will be the first of its kind in North Texas and will provide leadership opportunities to encourage and support women-owned businesses and success.
“We believe that women-owned businesses are an economic resource yet to be fully developed, and that TWU, which is the nation’s largest university primarily for women, is well positioned to be at the forefront in making a difference in the lives of so many women in Texas as well as having a huge economic impact on our state,” TWU Chancellor Carine M. Feyten said.
The new center will provide students and entrepreneurs access to education in business creation and ownership, engagement and mentorship with role models who already own their own businesses, and opportunities to engage in a learning lab that explores the intersection of gender and entrepreneurial leadership.
Also expected to emerge from the initiative are research opportunities, including work that explores what operational, financial and other factors are necessary to accelerate the overall success of women-owned businesses and female entrepreneurs.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women-owned businesses account for 30 percent of all enterprises in the U.S., but only employ about 6 percent of the country’s workforce and contribute to less than 4 percent of business revenues in the country – roughly the same share they contributed in 1997. This national experience is mirrored in Texas.
“There is substantial potential for future growth in women-owned businesses in Texas, and it is exciting that TWU is taking a leadership role in making this happen,” said Mary Pincoffs Wilson, chair of the TWU Board of Regents.
Feyten says that receiving funding for the Center for Women in Business, along with approval for a new Student Union and new Science and Technology Building, shows overwhelming support for TWU by the state.
“We appreciate the governor’s and Legislature’s recognition of our importance and value to the state, which underscores our longstanding history and reputation of educating women leaders in Texas,” Feyten said.
Founded in 1901, Texas Woman’s University is a public university with an enrollment of 15,000 students on campuses in Denton, Dallas and Houston. TWU offers more than 140 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programs in the liberal arts, nursing, health sciences, business, the sciences and education.