Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Program Description
Rationale
According to the Kauffman Foundation, over one hundred colleges and universities report having an entrepreneurship center. However, the list does not include any first tier liberal arts colleges. Furthermore, practically all of the centers focus their activities at the graduate level. The University of Richmond is a top liberal arts college and thus provides a unique setting for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the Center will focus on the needs and interests of undergraduate students. It will support learning, community involvement, and research on the part of students and faculty on topics relating to innovation processes and entrepreneurial decision-making. The Center will take advantage of the strong liberal arts orientation at the University of Richmond to offer a program that integrates the unique capabilities in the business school with the schools of arts and sciences, leadership studies, and law.
Action Plan
- Develop an interdisciplinary academic entrepreneurship program (done)
- Create a campus-wide entrepreneurship club (done)
- Form an executive advisory board composed of successful innovators and entrepreneurs (done)
- Develop an internship program for students (done)
- Create a competition that will encourage campus-wide participation (done)
- Create an on-line communications platform for students, faculty, alumni and invited business people
- Direct student involvement in consulting projects
- Sponsor interdisciplinary research grants for faculty and students
- Hold periodic conferences/symposia jointly sponsored with A&S, Leadership Studies and/or Law
- Provide courses/programs for non-business majors to help them develop an entrepreneurship mindset
- Move towards the creation of a virtual business incubator