BCS 128D
- (319) 273-2020
- laurie.watje@uni.edu
Laurie Watje
Associate Director, John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center
Adjunct Instructor of Marketing
Education
B.S. (Accounting) Upper Iowa University; CPA. Certified as a Kauffman Foundation FastTrac facilitator; Certificate in Leadership Development, University of Northern Iowa; Incubator Management Certification Program, National Business Incubator Association.
Teaching Interests
Entrepreneurial Fundamentals, Financial Literacy
Responsibilities
Laurie is the Associate Director of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
Professional Accomplishments
Prior to Laurie’s present position, she managed the R.J. McElroy Student Business Incubator program located in the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (’07 – ’18). Before her career at UNI, Laurie served in four other business ventures: Owner of The Office Stop in Carroll, IA (’91-’94); Accounting Adjunct Instructor for Des Moines Area Community College in Carroll, IA (’97 – ’07); Staff Accountant for Olsen, Muhlbauer & Co., LLC, in Carroll, IA (’94 – ’96 and ‘06 – ’07) and Business Manager for Party Time Fundraising in Carroll, IA (’96 – ’07).
Latest News & Views

UNI Business partners with Waterloo to launch minority-owned business accelerator
The pandemic has damaged businesses across the country. Federal aid in the form of Paycheck Protection Program—which began April 3 and ended Aug. 8 and handed out 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion—provided an essential crutch. But some businesses, particularly Black-owned and minority-owned businesses, were largely locked out, according to a recent report from the Association Press and CBS.

New Social Media Marketing Course at UNI Open to Local Business Professionals
Need an introduction or refresher to the fundamentals of using Social Media for effectively marketing your business or organization? The MBA program in the College of Business Administration at UNI announced a new graduate level one credit course on Social Media Marketing to be offered to its students taught by professional marketer Sara Kies with start dates in April, 2021.

Serial entrepreneur got his start at UNI’s John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center
Travis Steffen remembers the first time he contemplated building a business. An undergraduate student, he was sitting in his dorm room at Dancer Hall, chatting with his two roommates. They wanted to make bed lofts and sell them to incoming students. They calculated a $10,000 profit, life-changing money in college. Although they later found out UNI already contracted with a bed loft company and dropped the idea, Steffen couldn’t shake the potential.

Is history on repeat? Former UNI student body presidents weigh in on the changes
Four former student body presidents and graduates from the College of Business Administration shared the highlights and struggles of their terms across four decades, illuminating along the way the universal struggles of the college experience and the unique challenges brought on by current events.

The complete guide to choosing a college major
College is an exciting time in your life, but don’t spend all four years merely enjoying it – you should take advantage of this time to determine exactly what you want to do with your life. This article will help you decide how to choose your college major that fits your long-term goals.

Five iOS Apps for people learning to 'adult'
The anxiety young people have about maturing in their twenties has lead to the word "adulting" becoming quite popular. It's a useful, albeit somewhat glib, catch-all term for taking care of yourself. Doing your laundry? Adulting. Scrambling an egg? Adulting. In truth, the real sign of adulthood is living a life that's within your control, and for that, there are several iOS apps to help. With these five apps, anyone can "adult" -- or at least fake it when they need to.