Entrepreneurship
focus of new Kauffman grant
Up to
$5 million to be awarded to institutions
UNM is
among 15 universities selected by the Marion Ewing Kauffman
Foundation of Kansas City, Mo., to participate in the Foundations
Kauffman Campuses Initiative, a new program aimed at making
entrepreneurship education accessible campus-wide.
UNM Provost
Brian Foster and Professor Andres C. Salazar, Anderson Schools
of Management and the School of Engineering, led the team in
developing the UNM planning grant. Representatives from other
UNM schools and colleges will join Foster and Salazar in formulating
the final proposal.
UNM received
an immediate $50,000 planning grant to develop a comprehensive
plan to make entrepreneurship training available to UNM students,
faculty and researchers. Regardless of the degree the student
seeks, courses from the entrepreneurial program could be taken
for credit and the content would help prepare the student for
starting a New Mexico business.
The planning
grant was made based on an initial letter of interest by UNM
President F. Chris Garcia with an outline of the program UNM
would set up if the grant were awarded. UNM will present the
full proposal at a December meeting. The proposal will be judged
on innovative methods used to provide entrepreneurship training
to every student and the way that training is applied. Other
factors that will be judged in the plan are: the potential of
the program to serve as a model for other universities, its
sustainability, and the ability of the university to solicit
multiple matching funds for the program from its supporters.
UNM will
join the other 14 universities in presenting a plan to the Kauffman
Foundation at the December meeting in Kansas City. Five to seven
institutions will be selected to receive challenge grants of
up to $5 million each for setting up the program.
It
is in line with our interest in elevating UNMs involvement
in regional economic development. I congratulate the team that
put the initial planning grant together, Garcia said.
The Kauffman
Foundation of Kansas City is committed to advancing entrepreneurship
in America and improving the education of youth.