Purdue invited to compete for foundation entrepreneurship grant
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Through the foundation's Kauffman Campuses Initiative II, Purdue and its Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Discovery Park have been invited to submit a research proposal outlining the university's plans to encourage entrepreneurship on campus.
Purdue is among 11 universities or college systems participating in the Kauffman Foundation's $35 million commitment to colleges and universities across the country.
"We believe the Burton Morgan Center has already established an effective university model for the rapid movement of research to the marketplace," said Alan Rebar, executive director of Discovery Park and interim director of the Burton Morgan Center. "Along the way, Purdue has been committed to fostering entrepreneurship in our undergraduate and graduate students by actively involving them in the entrepreneurial process.
"We are excited about the opportunity provided by the Kauffman Campuses initiative. Through this initiative, we hope to expand on what we have accomplished since the Burton Morgan Center was launched three years ago. We will build upon our considerable momentum to refine, expand and develop educational opportunities designed to create a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in students from all of our colleges and disciplines."
Purdue hopes to receive a planning grant to develop its proposal, which will be presented to an independent panel of judges in December.
Each participating institution is eligible to receive a grant if the judges determine its proposal is innovative and sustainable. The grant amount will be based on each participant's commitment to entrepreneurship education across all academic fields, its unique needs and the scope of its proposal.
"We're looking forward to the presentations, and the subsequent programs that will come out of those proposals," said Judith Cone, Kauffman Foundation vice president of entrepreneurship. "We know from our previous Kauffman Campuses that students benefit from learning to think entrepreneurially. It helps them see what's possible when one thinks innovatively about combining their passion and resources to create opportunity."
The Burton Morgan Center was launched at Purdue's interdisciplinary research hub, Discovery Park, to bring together existing entrepreneurial efforts on campus.
The center also serves as a resource for Purdue researchers to commercialize their discoveries and as the intellectual center of education on, and discussion of, entrepreneurial philosophy and issues. It also houses other programs such as Center for Regional Development, Small Business Development Center, Biomedship and the EPICS Entrepreneurship Initiative.
In conjunction with Purdue's Krannert School of Management, the Burton Morgan Center serves as host of the annual life sciences and business plan competitions, which draw participants from across the country.
Last fall, the Burton Morgan Center created the undergraduate certificate in entrepreneurship and innovation program. The first class last fall had 40 students and grew to more than 200 students this spring. Rebar said the program is on target to hit its 1,000-student goal by fall 2008.
The 11 Kauffman Campuses institutions, including Purdue, were selected to compete in this round of funding based on a series of criteria, including the ability to generate a partnership with other foundations and donors, and the potential to create representative models.
"Our initiative is creating a cultural change and making the entire university system more entrepreneurial," said Carl Schramm, who is chief executive officer of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Kauffman Foundation. "We want all students, not just those in business schools, to see the value of thinking like entrepreneurs. We want them to be able to recognize and seize opportunity when it presents itself, no matter what field they find themselves in."
The Kauffman Campuses effort was launched in 2003 with $25 million in funding to eight universities that provided entrepreneurship education within liberal arts, engineering and other non-business programs.
The Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan organization that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. The late Ewing Marion Kauffman, a pharmaceuticals industry magnate, philanthropist and former owner of the Kansas City Royals baseball team, established the Kauffman Foundation in the mid-1960s.
Writer: Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Sources: Alan Rebar, (765) 496-6625, rebar@purdue.edu
Michelle Keller, Kauffman Foundation, (816) 932-1024, mkeller@kauffman.org
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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