The Baldwin-Wallace College Center for Innovation and Growth received a $1.65 million grant to help further its mission of extending campus-wide an entrepreneurial mindset, so that more B-W students can contribute to Northeast Ohio's economy today and tomorrow.
“For Baldwin-Wallace College, carrying entrepreneurship education campuswide means teaching students in every discipline how to convert passion into opportunity, and how to do so within an ethical framework governed by personal integrity,” said B-W President Richard Durst. “As appreciation for chosen fields of study deepen, students should also be thinking about ways to use knowledge for building value and stimulating wealth creation.”
The grant is from the combined entrepreneurially and regionally focused agency of The Burton D. Morgan Foundation-Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Northeast Ohio Collegiate Entrepreneurship Program. One of the intentions of this grant is to encourage music students to think like entrepreneurs when it comes time to earn a living and to train science majors to possess the mindset that will help them innovate and adjust in times of change to become a greater asset to their employers.
“Our students will live in a rapidly changing, technology driven world,” said Durst. “We want our graduates to be prepared to innovate and lead change in this environment.
“We are deeply grateful to The Burton D. Morgan and Ewing Marion Kauffman foundations for helping us provide these opportunities for our campus community.”
According to Deborah D. Hoover, president of the Morgan Foundation, “Baldwin-Wallace College is among a small group with the opportunity to transform the future of entrepreneurship on campuses across the country. By doing so, B-W is part of a movement that ultimately has the ability to create jobs, innovation and prosperity in America.”
The new initiatives will be coordinated through B-Wʼs Center for Innovation and Growth (CIG), which is being led by Profs. Eric Fingerhut and Peter Rea. Plans call for student and faculty “fellows” representing all of B-W's academic divisions to be recruited, as well as leadership fellows from the business community.
“The CIG fellows will take the lead in recruiting non-business students and faculty to study enrepreneurship and to participate in practical projects that benefit the region by attracting, retaining and developing innovative student, faculty and leadership talent,” said Rea, the Burton D. Morgan Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at B-W. One such example of regional involvement would be the recent CIG involvement in the government consolidation program where B-W students gave guidance in improving safety and reducing costs for municipal fire services.
B-W Business Division Chair Peter Kelly will be involved too, as he is turning to a multidisciplinary group of faculty fellows to help lead a rewriting of the courses and requirements for the undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship. A similar review is scheduled for B-W's MBA in Entrepreneurship. The expectation is to make exposure to entrepreneurial thinking more accessible to students with non-business majors or backgrounds.
“This is a major undertaking for Baldwin-Wallace College,” said Kelly. “We hope to be able to provide all undergraduate and MBA students with experiences in using interdisciplinary perspectives to shape their understanding of entrepreneurship.”
This is the second major commitment to B-W in the past year from The Burton D. Morgan Foundation. A $1.5 million grant last winter established the Burton D. Morgan Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies, which Peter Rea now holds.
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas, Mo., is similar to the Morgan Foundation, as its mission is to foster “a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities.” Its staff works nationwide to catalyze an entrepreneurial society in which job creation, innovation and the economy flourish. The Kauffman Foundation is the 26th largest foundation in the United States with an asset base of approximately $2 billion.
“If we are successful, students across our campus will be exposed to entrepreneurship concepts in the years to come,” said Rea. “At the same time, hundreds of students, alumni and faculty will have taken a deeper dive into the theory and practice of entrepreneurship by participating in the Center for Innovation and Growth.”
“Enduring Questions” creates entrepreneurial thinkers
Promoting entrepreneurial thinking in a global environment, Enduring Questions for an Intercultural World is a course taken by all new B-W students. Using the ideas of great thinkers to consider how culture shapes human nature, human relationships and one’s relationship to the natural world, students apply their nderstanding to current domestic and international issues. The course strives to develop core skills essential to entrepreneurial thinking.
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