The Martin J. Whitman School of Management is establishing the Institute for an Entrepreneurial Society (IES), supported by a $1.75 million grant from the Charles Koch Foundation. The institute will produce high-quality research on the political economy of entrepreneurship, educate future thought leaders in the field and engage the academic community in explorations of the entrepreneurial society. IES scholars will examine the institutions that foster societal well-being and promote productive entrepreneurship.
Maria Minniti
“By cultivating people motivated to explore the characteristics that contribute to an entrepreneurial society and offering a venue in which those ideas are shared and promulgated, IES seeks to inform the future direction of the growing scholarly discipline of entrepreneurship studies,” says Maria Minniti, the founding director of IES and Bantle Chair in Entrepreneurship and Public Policy at the Whitman School. “Evidence-based research can contribute to an entrepreneurial society in which the market process generates innovation, opportunities and economic growth, as well as a society in which entrepreneurial innovation is supported by institutions that unleash human creativity and productivity.”
To support this vision, IES will train Ph.D. students, engage in relevant scholarship and create a network of entrepreneurship scholars committed to understanding the entrepreneurial society.
“We are grateful to the Charles Koch Foundation for its generous leadership gift to support this new institute, which will further extend the Whitman School and Syracuse University’s role in the field of entrepreneurship,” says J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and Barnes Professor of Entrepreneurship. “Professor Minniti’s vision combined with the thought leadership of Whitman faculty will help lead the conversation about how to build a thriving entrepreneurial society and catalyze efforts to support entrepreneurial innovation and economic growth.”
A kick-off event to launch IES is planned for 2017. To make a gift to support IES, entrepreneurship or the Whitman School in general, or to discuss options for planned giving, please contact Assistant Dean for Advancement John Prizner at 315.443.9600 or jsprizne@syr.edu.
