Reiss and Houston honored as Entrepreneurs of the Year

The Freeman School has named two distinguished businessmen with close ties to New Orleans as this year's Tulane Entrepreneurs of the Year.

James J. Reiss Jr., a private investor and manager of Reiss Companies, was honored as the 2008 Tulane Most Distinguished Entrepreneur, and Allan Houston, former NBA player and founder of the Allan Houston Foundation, was honored as the 2008 Tulane Social Entrepreneur of the Year.

The awards were presented at the annual Tulane Council of Entrepreneurs Awards Gala on Friday, April 18, at the Westin New Orleans at Canal Place. The Freeman School's Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship presents the awards each year to highlight individuals whose support of for-profit and nonprofit entrepreneurial initiatives improves the community.

"Jimmy Reiss and Allan Houston each exemplify the true spirit of entrepreneurship and philanthropic generosity," said John Elstrott, executive director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute. "Jimmy has spent his career growing businesses and creating wealth while remaining committed to the community. Allan, through his foundation, created an entrepreneurship education program to help young adults in New Orleans achieve economic empowerment."

The Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship trains students for entrepreneurial careers through coursework, community service projects and internships. In 2007, the institute's entrepreneurship program was ranked 15th in the nation by Entrepreneur magazine and the Princeton Review.

The Freeman School of Business was established in 1914 and is a founding member of AACSB, the premier accrediting body for collegiate schools of business. Today, Freeman is a leading, internationally recognized business school with more than 1,800 students in programs spanning three continents. The Freeman School is consistently listed among the nation's best business schools by publications including U.S. News & World Report, BusinessWeek, Forbes, London's Financial Times and Latin America's AméricaEconomía.