Centers of Excellence Resources Directory
Enhance Your Academic Experience at Leeds Through Academic Centers of Excellence
Burridge Center for Finance Student Resources
Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility Student Resources
Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Michael A. Klump Center for Real Estate
Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility Student Resources
The Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility connects Leeds with the sustainable business community. We do this in part by sharing groundbreaking research related to business solutions to environmental challenges, diversity and inclusion, and ethical, transformative leadership. We also offer professional skills workshops, panels, Career Treks and networking events that give students the opportunity to connect with B Corps, natural products companies, renewable energy companies, outdoor industry companies, corporate social responsibility professionals and more.
Social Responsibility and Ethics (SRE) Certificate - Learn to lead in the current moment where climate and inequality are impacting every business.
Sustainable Business Club - Connect with students who share your passion for using business to drive positive social and environmental changes.
Business Ethics Case Competition - Show off your skills and compete with your peers to solve sustainability challenges and win cash prizes.
Sustainability Scholars Program - The inaugural program will support four students with a financial stipend of up to $2,000 for the pursuit of “transformative educational opportunities in sustainability and social impact.”
MBA Pathways Programs Community Pages:
Connect with your Pathways community using the links below and engage in events, development opportunities, specialized programming and more.
Clean Energy MBA Pathway - Lead the clean energy transition and fight climate change with a career in one of the fastest growing industries.
ESG & Sustainability MBA Pathway - Drive business solutions to environmental, social and governance challenges.
Natural & Organic MBA Pathway - Make an impact in the fastest growing sector of the U.S. food industry.
Graduate Student Clubs and Case Competitions:
Leeds Sustainability Case Competition - Leeds MBA students host and compete in this premiere sustainability case competition.
Graduate Student Organizations - Graduate student organizations provide opportunities to increase professional skills and shape your program.
Stay Connected - or e-mail CESR to stay connected.
Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship helps students build a toolkit enabling them to build what they envision. Through experiential learning, research and community engagement, Leeds students learn principles in entrepreneurship while developing career-long skills that are applicable whether they’re launching startups or “intrapreneuring” and building teams in a corporate environment.
Undergraduate Certificate in Entrepreneurial Studies - Leeds’ students learn principles in entrepreneurship while developing career-long skills that are applicable whether they’re launching startups or “intrapreneuring” and building teams in a corporate environment.
High Growth Venture Fellowship - Two-year program that immerses a select group of MBA candidates in academic and experiential learning unique to growth-stage companies.
- Make a difference in South Africa! Be part of a consulting team working with local entrepreneurs in the townships of Cape Town during the summer.
- Gain real-world skills by going through the process of launching a new venture in France during the summer.
New Venture Launch Class - An application-based class for cross-disciplinary teams, individual founders, and entrepreneurially-focused undergraduate and graduate students driven to succeed in a startup ecosystem during the spring semester.
- Graduate students specilizing in business, law and engineering show their venture capital skills by investing in the Colorado private investment community and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Students are recruited during the fall semester.
- Join a boutique consulting firm owned and operated by MBA students at . Teams of first-year MBA candidates apply for Entrepreneurial Solutions in the spring and run the company over the summer between their first and second years.
- Join this network of MBA students devoted to connecting new talent with the Colorado startup community.
- Join our MBA or undergraduate team in this specialty competition acting as venture capitalists evaluating real startups, interacting with entrepreneurs, and preparing term sheets. Students are recruited annually in the fall.
Michael A. Klump Center for Real Estate
Founded in 1989 by a passionate group of local real estate industry leaders, the CU Real Estate Center (CUREC) offers real estate students access to world-class faculty, relevant and broad course offerings and professional networks of developers, investors and real estate managers.
Career Coaching - In conjunction with the Career Development Office, the Michael A. Klump Center for Real Estate's Programs and Student Engagement Manager provides personalized academic support, career guidance, resume and LinkedIn critiques, and interview preparation.
Case Competitions - Students have the opportunity to showcase and further cultivate collaboration, analytical, creative, problem-solving, and presentation skills in a team setting through case competitions addressing relevant challenges in commercial real estate.
Technical Trainings - Declared real estate students can enroll in a 2-day instructor-led Wall Street Prep Real Estate Financial Modeling workshop in the fall and a 2-day instructor-led ARGUS certification workshop in the spring.
Guest Speakers - Industry professionals engage with students by participating in panels and symposiums discussing a variety of topics including career paths within commercial real estate, public speaking skills, sustainability within commercial real estate, the intersection of architecture and real estate development, and more.
Local Treks - In collaboration with the CU Real Estate club, the Center coordinates student tours of commercial real estate firms in the Denver-Boulder area followed by Q&A sessions with industry professionals.
National Treks - Select students are invited to attend national treks to New York City, Dallas, and Southern California. Participants engage in office visits and site tours addressing a wide array of commercial real estate specializations and asset classes.
- The Klump Center for Real Estate provides a variety of events including symposiums, forums, fireside chats, and panel discussions.
Recruitment Fairs - In collaboration witht the Career Development Office, the Center assists in the planning and execution of a fall and spring recruitment fair for students seeking internships or full-time opportunities.
Real Estate Cub - The CU Real Estate Club bridges the gap between classroom learning and real-world application within commercial real estate.
Graduate Real Estate Association - The GREA is a student-led organization that focuses on providing CU MBA and MSRE students with educational, networking and service opportunities within the real estate profession.
Real Estate Fellows Program - The Michael A. Klump Center for Real Estate Fellows Program provides highly-invested undergraduate business students with a real estate emphasis opportunities, skill development, industry connections, and resources to accelerate their preparedness for and exposure to the commercial real estate industry.
Research Centers of Excellence
The Business Research Division conducts economic impact studies and customized research projects that assist companies, associations, nonprofits and government agencies with making sound business and policy decisions.
Conducts original scientific research and promotes dialogue among experts from academia, business, and government on the topic of how to help consumers make better financial decisions.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
As the bridges to our communities, the Centers of Excellence play a critical role in the greater conversation of diversity, equity and inclusion. Some of our current actions include:
- Connect diverse judges and speakers to Leeds events and classes
- Listen to diverse students to make our Center activities more relevant and inclusive
- Lift up diverse voices in our communication channels
- Cultivate supportive relationships with the diverse business community
- Support our diverse entrepreneurs and business owners via our mentoring and support programming
- Provide our stories, images and examples for our classrooms that include diverse representation
How our Centers of Excellence enhance the Leeds academic experience
Promote thought leadership and intellectual innovation
Enrich and advance business education by providing real-world context to the classroom
Cultivate relationships and engagement with industry leaders and organizations
Advance student job placement through innovative programs