Gostin named Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year

Gostin named Distinguished Entrepreneur of the YearMay 06, 2003Cynthia J. Moritzcjmoritz@syr.edu

Jud Gostin, founder, president and CEO of Sensis Corp. of DeWitt, was named Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year at the April 3 awards banquet of the School of Management’s Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program. Gostin is the first inductee into what will be the Syracuse Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.

Gostin founded Sensis in 1985, growing it into a market leader in sensors and information technology for military and civilian aviation used, with equipment deployed in more than 25 countries. Previously, he was a program general manager with the General Electric Corp.’s Radar Systems Department, leading the development of advanced air defense systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Dartmouth College.

Commenting on the award, Michael Morris, Witting Chair of Entrepreneurship and program director, says that “Jud Gostin captures the spirit of what entrepreneurship is all about, and what we are trying to teach our students. He is an innovator who has built a growth-oriented enterprise based on solid values. He lets his people fail, which in the end ensures their own growth and that of Sensis.”

Nominations for the award were made through a distinguished panel of 16 entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship educators and venture capitalists. More than 30 individuals were nominated. The panel reviewed nominations based on a set of criteria including innovativeness, economic impact, community contribution and demonstration of a sustained entrepreneurial spirit.

“Jud Gostin was an overwhelming choice as the initial recipient,” says Morris.

Other awards presented at the banquet include:

• Entrepreneurship Founder’s Award-George Burman, School of Management dean
• Outstanding Entrepreneurship Teacher-Clint Tankersley, associate professor and associate dean
• Distinguished Entrepreneurial Mentoring and Support-Anne Messenger, founder and president of Messenger and Associates
• Syracuse Student Entrepreneur of the Year-senior Brian Bushell
• Academic Excellence-seniors Don Stanton and Christina Holowich
• Outstanding Entrepreneurship Students-seniors Jason Bolduc and Angelique Darling
• Outstanding MBA Entrepreneurship Student-Nicole Jones
• Spirit of Entrepreneurship-junior Julie Abrams
• Outstanding EEE Team Member/Employee-MBA student Curtis DirenziEntrepreneurial Leadership-senior Kalen Pascal

The Entrepreneurship Program at Syracuse was recently ranked among the top 20 programs in the country. Morris notes, “A great program is about great students, great team members and great community support. The people receiving recognition are the reason our program has become something special.”