Eden Blair

Biography

Eden S. Blair has been at Bradley University since 2007. She is currently a professor of entrepreneurship. Her work experience includes completing two years of National Service through the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps and co-founding and working with various non-profit ventures. Dedicated to her community, Eden is a board member of Grafelman Farms Animal Rescue and the Peoria County Board member for District 6. Eden advises students from across campus on business formation and ideation. She sits on numerous advising boards for social ventures and governmental agencies.

Teaching

Eden teaches courses in new venture creation, entrepreneurial creativity and social entrepreneurship. With a strong belief that all students can be entrepreneurial, Eden teaches students from all five colleges on campus within her courses and as modules in other courses. These courses are designed to minimize the risk of failure when starting a business or social enterprise.

Courses Currently Teaching:

• ENT 386 Social Entrepreneurship
• ENT 280 Entrepreneurial Creativity
• ENT 281 The Entrepreneurial Career
• ENT682 Entrepreneurship (MBA)

Scholarship

Research interests include entrepreneurial cognition, unconscious entrepreneurial behavior, and legal issues of entrepreneurship.

Selected Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles in the Last Five Years

Marcum, T.M., Blair, E.S. (2020). Companies with Purpose: An Update on the L3C, Its Uses and Possibilities. University of Missouri at Kansas City Law Review.

Marcum, T. M., Blair, E. S. (2018). “Over- and Underfunding: Crowdfunding Concerns of the Parties Involved. DePaul Business and Commercial Law Journal, 16(1).

Blair, E. S. (2017). You Had Just One Job. Experiential Entrepreneurship Exercises Journal, 2(1), 12-17.

Blair, E. S., Marcum, T. M., Kuobova, V. (2015). 'L3C' designation doesn't matter to consumers. Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange.

Blair, E. S., Marcum, T. M. (2015). Heed Our Advice:  Exploring How Professionals Guide Small Business Owners in Startup Entity Choice. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(1), 249-265. 

Nagy, B., Blair, E. S., Lohrke, F. T. (2014). Developing a scale to measure liabilities and assets of newness after start-up. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 10(2), 277-295. 

Research Awards

• 2017 Schultze Publication Award, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange (EIX), 2014 Schultze Award, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange (EIX), "Outstanding Reviewer, Cross-Campus Entrepreneurship," USASBE, 2011

Leadership in Academic Societies

• Editorial Review Board Member, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange, 2014 - Present
• Editorial Review Board Member, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2011 - 2014
• Board Member, USASBE, 2014-2015, Law and Entrepreneur SIG chair 2015 and 2018

Service

College and University

As a member of University Senate, Eden sits on the Senate Executive Committee representing the Foster College and is also a member of the Sub-C committee of the university Curriculum and Regulations committee. Eden is a member of the Gender Equity advisory group to the Provost and is on the Elections committee.  She co-founded the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and is the Director of Curricular Programs  and the faculty liaison between the Foster College of Business and the Turner School.  She is also advisor for the Bradley chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

Professional

Eden formerly sat on the editorial board of the International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Exchange. As an ad hoc reviewer, Eden has reviewed recently for the Journal of Small Business Strategy, Journal of Small Business Management, the Academy of Management and the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). Eden is the 2014-2015 board member for USASBE and faculty development chair for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization (CEO).