Meet Ben Warnick
Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, WSU Vancouver
By Sue McMurray
In a time of national pandemic, being entrepreneurial can create new opportunities when others are closing. As more people pursue their entrepreneurial business ideas and seek to turn hobbies into profitable careers, Ben Warnick will be poised to share research insights on what drives entrepreneurs’ passions, emotions, and well-being, as well as tips for their success.
As a new assistant professor of entrepreneurship at WSU Vancouver, Warnick looks forward to deepening connections on campus and in the community to contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.
“I am thrilled to be joining the entrepreneurship faculty at WSU Vancouver after four years as an assistant professor on WSU’s Pullman campus,” says Warnick. “The entrepreneurial spirit of WSU Vancouver and the surrounding community is infectious.”
Supporting WSU Vancouver’s mission through teaching, research, and service
Warnick visited the area multiple times to interview entrepreneurs for his research and found WSU Vancouver to be on the cutting edge of entrepreneurial pedagogy and research. He is most excited to teach the capstone entrepreneurship class as part of the renowned Business Growth Mentor and Analysis Program and to collaborate on research with WSU Vancouver faculty.
As a member of the Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship in the Carson College, he will continue his entrepreneurship research, teach entrepreneurship and management courses, and engage in service roles to push forward WSU Vancouver’s mission as it relates to teaching, research, and service to society.
“The Carson College has a strategic vision for building partnerships with entrepreneurs in our region,” says Jane Cote, the college’s academic director at WSU Vancouver. “Ben’s work and his natural flair for breaking down complicated concepts to make the difficult seem easy will help us develop strategic relationships as well as motivate our students to get more excited about entrepreneurship.”
Committed to academic and global service
Prior to coming to WSU, Warnick earned his doctorate in entrepreneurship and strategic management at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. His research has been published in top business journals, including the Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice—widely regarded as the most prestigious academic journals dedicated to entrepreneurship—and the Journal of Management Studies. His research has twice received best paper recognition from the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division. He is an editorial board member of the Journal of Business Venturing, has served on the dissertation committee of three WSU Ph.D. students, and has dedicated several years of work toward empowering people in impoverished nations through business education and development. When living in Bulgaria and Uganda, Warnick taught English and entrepreneurship classes, developed a microfinance program, and provided consulting services to entrepreneurs on their businesses.