Petty Recognized As National Entrepreneurship Teacher Of The Year

Dr. Bill Petty, Professor of Finance and the W.W. Caruth Chair of Entrepreneurship, has received the national Entrepreneurship Teacher of the Year award from the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
"Great teachers change lives by inspiring students to recognize their gifts and to learn how to use them to pursue a worthy dream," said Acton Foundation President Rick O'Donnell. "Bill Petty is one such great teacher."
Petty, the sole recipient of the top honor, was recognized on Feb. 1 in Austin, where he received a trophy and $10,000. He was nominated by a student and then selected by a panel of Acton master entrepreneurship teachers.
"Dr. Petty is a man of great character and demonstrates this by not only teaching his students financials, but also how to maintain a higher quality of life," said the student. "He should be awarded because he serves as a lifelong mentor to all of his students."
Additionally, the Foundation invited Petty to select a top student to attend the seminar and receive $1,000 toward education costs. He chose Justin Ersch, a senior entrepreneurship and finance major from Fredericksburg, Texas.
Petty has taught at Baylor since 1990 and was designated Master Teacher in 2004. But Petty's students don't just say he's an excellent professor. He's more than that.
"You don't want to get a bad grade because it'll hurt your GPA, but also because you don't want to let him down," Ersch said. "He's more like a father figure."