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HKEC

About Us

About HKEC

The Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center promotes the development of entrepreneurial skills and supports exploration of the ways these skills can be applied to careers as founders or innovators within established firms.

Our Founder: Herb Kelleher

“I endowed the Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center as a devout believer in the excitements and in the rewards of entrepreneurship for job seekers and for America.”

The Herb Kelleher Entrepreneurship Center was founded in 2001 to provide resources to others with an entrepreneurial spirit and encourage innovation; Herb Kelleher's (1931-2019) vision and passion for positive change are reflected in the center, both in name and spirit.

In 1967, Herb founded Southwest Airlines. Prior to this, flying was a luxury and only those that were wealthy or traveling for business used airplanes. With the start of Southwest Airlines, the industry changed. In 1968, competitors sued to keep Herb Kelleher's new airline grounded. After a three-year court fight, the first plane took off from Dallas. Today Southwest Airlines operates nearly 4,000 flights a day.