MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Nasdaq Stock Market has agreed to a two-year financial commitment to support the activities of the Midwest Entrepreneurial Education Center at Ball State University.

The center will receive $60,000 over two years. Located in the College of Business, the center's mission is to help Midwest entrepreneurs build growing, profitable businesses by offering practical, high-quality educational programs and activities, while serving as the focal point for encouraging the further development of an entrepreneurial economy in the Midwest.

The Nasdaq support is a major boost to the center and enhances the growing reputation of Ball State's College of Business, said Donald F. Kuratko, the Stoops Distinguished Professor of Business and founding director of the entrepreneurship program.

"We are extremely elated to have Nasdaq become one of our premier sponsors," he said. "They are so well respected among growth-oriented companies and their relationship with our center will enhance the powerful presence we have in the entrepreneurship sector. This is another great step for the center, entrepreneurship program and Ball State University."

Alfred Berkeley, Nasdaq president, said the partnership is a natural fit for both organizations.

"Nasdaq is the premier stock market for cutting-edge, entrepreneurial companies," he said. "Both the Midwest Entrepreneurial Education Center and Ball State's Entrepreneurship Program are premier resources for training and coaching entrepreneurs."

Established in February 1971, the Nasdaq Composite Index includes more than 5,500 companies. The Nasdaq Stock Market is the fastest growing major stock market in the world, and the first electronic-based market ever created. More than half of all the shares traded in the United States every day do so on Nasdaq. Nasdaq is an independent subsidiary of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., the largest self-regulatory organization for the securities industry in the U.S.

Average daily volume on the Nasdaq Stock Market reached a record $20.1 billion in the first quarter of 1998, up 18.9 pecent from $16.9 billion during the first quarter of 1997. The market value of the 5,400 companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange reached $2.15 trillion, up 49.6 percent from the same period in 1997.