Lundquist = Entrepreneurship

Lundquist = Entrepreneurship

Just like UO business alumnus and Olympian Devon Allen said, “You go to the University of Oregon to go to the Olympics,” we are setting the stage for students to say, “You go to Lundquist to be an entrepreneur.”

Entrepreneurship is about solution-finding. At its best, those solutions can have deep impacts on the environment and society, making our experience of the world better through business. That's why the Lundquist College of Business is at the heart of fast-expanding opportunities and activities for entrepreneurs—not just at the college, but at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, as well as the entire university.

In the past few years, we have increased curricular offerings, launched a new incubator program called the Oregon Innovation Challenge, debuted on-demand consulting services by students, expanded mentoring by entrepreneurs-in-residence, invested in faculty, and much more.

  • Entrepreneurship at the undergraduate and MBA levels are among our fastest-growing concentrations
  • Our entrepreneurship minor—launched in 2017—is now one of the largest minors on campus—150 students
  • Accounting majors can now add a concentration in entrepreneurship
  • A new, four-course certificate program—launched in 2023—is designed specifically for graduate students at the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and open to all graduate students.
An image of a piece of notebook paper and hand-drawn doodles with the words fastest growing concentration
An image of a piece of notebook paper and hand-drawn doodles with the words top minor on campus
An image of a piece of notebook paper and hand-drawn doodles with the words now available to accounting majors
An image of a piece of notebook paper and hand-drawn doodles with the words new graduate certificate

Leading the Charge

All Knight Campus graduate students are required to take an entrepreneurship course at the start of their academic careers. Many are electing to continue on to earn a graduate certificate in entrepreneurship by taking an additional series of courses.

Andrew Nelson, professor of management and Randall C. Papé Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, was the architect of these courses and teaches the first in the series.

In addition, a $2 million endowment fund will support graduate students who take these new courses, establishing them as Knight Campus Cameron Innovation Fellows. These funds are part of a significant gift announced last year from the estate of Gerry and Marilyn Cameron to support entrepreneurship at the Lundquist College and Knight Campus.

We’re even extending this graduate-level entrepreneurship training and certification to researchers, doctors, and potential health entrepreneurs at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), the state’s flagship medical school in Portland. Half a dozen OHSU faculty and students enrolled in and attended Nelson’s course remotely, joining Knight Campus students to learn how to take their innovations from idea to startup.

A photo of Kylie Williams speaking

Growing Renown

With our growing entrepreneurship programs, we are making strategic investments in faculty expertise—with a host of recent key hires adding to an already accomplished group of academics.

These new faculty members will not only inspire and educate students, they will advance our understanding of entrepreneurship as an economic and cultural engine.

Few institutions have the depth and breadth of resources and expertise needed to dig deep and be a thought leader on the topic. We do, and we are leading the charge.

 Timely research topics our faculty are engaged in:

  • How institutions impact entrepreneurial activities (and careers)
  • The role of gender in entrepreneurial leadership
  • Human-to-non-human collaborations like artificial intelligence.
A photo of four faculty members outside walking away from the Lillis Business Complex. Text on what look like sticky notes reads as follows: Entrepreneurship's role in people’s careers, often focusing on emerging economies, Geoff Borchhardt, Assistant Professor of Management; The impact of data-driven technologies on new ventures, Sung Park, Assistant Professor of Management; How entrepreneurs search for employees and choose compensation, Innessa Colaiacovo, Assistant Professor of Management; Social dimensions of science and technology and the development and commercialization of innovations, Andrew Nelson, Professor of Management | Randall C. Papé Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

A New Incubator

Students are hungry for even more entrepreneurship opportunities at all levels. That’s why we have created a new model for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship for all UO students.

Envisioned and created by Jeff Sorensen, director of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship, in collaboration with the Oregon Entrepreneurship Group student club, the Oregon Innovation Challenge (OIC) is a months-long incubator for student startups that includes in-depth workshops, one-on-one mentoring, training, a peer community, a pitch competition, and even funding for top projects.

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projects started with OIC

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made it to pitches

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different majors represented

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received a total of $175,000 in funding

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PhD student ventures from the Knight Campus

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team joined from the Sports Product Management master’s program in Portland

Mentoring Every Step of the Way

To coach, mentor, and advise students along the startup and venture launch process, we’re welcoming even more experienced and successful entrepreneurs to campus as entrepreneurs-in-residence.

Bob Mighell, one such entrepreneur-in-residence,  has quickly become a student favorite. Another is Ann Carney who joined us this spring with a deep background in venture capital and a career committed to bettering small businesses.

Thanks to recent gifts from Dave and Nancy Petrone and the estate of Gerry and Marilyn Cameron, we will soon add additional entrepreneurs-in-residence to expand support for scientists, students, discoveries, and ventures affiliated with the Knight Campus, as well as others innovations and innovators across campus.

A photo of Bob Mighell smiling at the camera with two students

Innovation On-Demand

Because great ideas come from anywhere at any time, we are also piloting on-demand entrepreneurship consulting services. Student teams supervised by our faculty and entrepreneurs-in-residence are providing UO faculty and scientists with everything from business plan consulting to market analysis and pricing studies to help them bring their concepts to market.

Not only have these projects benefited faculty and researchers in the College of Education, Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, and Knight Campus, but they are also providing valuable hands-on learning experiences and connections to our students.

Four students working on a consulting project together

A Mountain of Opportunity

With all these investments and initiatives, and many more in the works, it's only natural that the University of Oregon is quickly climbing the rankings and becoming the place where entrepreneurial ideas come to fly. 

And it’s not just UO students that benefit. This past November, Jeff Sorensen convened a 60-person founders’ summit at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood for top student entrepreneurs across the country. Known as the v10 Summit, it introduced these highly promising students to seasoned entrepreneurs across three generations. Attendees described it as a “life-changing” experience. Several attendees raised $15 million or more in the months since. Many built lasting friendships and mentorships, and one Boston-based luminary later visited Eugene and gave a talk at the Knight Campus.

A scenic photo of Mount Hood, Oregon

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