Bessie House-Soremekun
Professor
Public Scholar in African American Studies,
 Civic Engagement and Entrepreneurship
Phone number: 317-274-5027
Office number: CA 504A

Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun joined the faculty at Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI) in the Fall of 2007. Her fields of academic concentration are Comparative Politics, The Political Economy of Africa, International Political Economy, Women and Development, and Economic Development and Entrepreneurship in Africa and the United States. She graduated “Magna Cum Laude” from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama with a degree in English. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Denver in International Studies.  

She is an award-winning author and poet, dynamic public speaker, professor, administrator, entrepreneur, and inventor. She is a nationally recognized leader, advocate, and expert on entrepreneurship and economic development. She is the President, Founder, and CEO of the National Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., which is a national, regional, and international collaborative of business organizations which utilize the successful model of applied entrepreneurship that she has created. She is a prolific scholar and author who has published several books including, “Class Development and Gender Inequality in Kenya, 1963-1990; “African Market Women and Economic Power: The Role of Women in African Economic Development”, and “Confronting the Odds: African American Entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio”, 1st edition, that was the recipient of the coveted Henry Howe Book Award. She is finalizing the 2nd edition of “Confronting the Odds” which will be published in 2008 by the Kent State University Press and another book titled, “Beyond the Empowerment Zone: Rethinking Inner City Development for the 21st Century and Beyond,” with her Ph.d. student, James McQuiston.  

She is married to Dr. Maurice A.E. Soremekun, a distinguished gynecologist/obstetrician in Beachwood, Ohio and they have two daughters attending college.

Contact Bessie House-Soremekun.