FLINT – Kettering University will receive $225,000 to develop a program focused on teaching entrepreneurship studies across the curriculum. Kettering joins the Illinois Institute of Technology as the only two grant winners to enter the next phase of a program supported by the Kern Family Foundation of Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Kettering President Stan Liberty said the grant will support, “Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum” to infuse Engineering and Science disciplines at Kettering with the concepts of both entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship.

“Once implemented, no student will be able to complete their studies at Kettering without being exposed to these concepts multiple times,” Liberty said. “This is an exciting development for both our University and for furthering economic re-development in this region of Michigan. It is one more way that Kettering can encourage and support new and innovative business development. I am grateful to the Kern Family Foundation for this opportunity to propel the knowledge economy in productive and helpful ways in our state.”

Michael Harris, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Kettering, said he was delighted with the news and thankful to the foundation and to the many faculty members and talented students who have laid the groundwork for Kettering’s nationally innovative program.

“This generous grant and the confidence expressed by the Kern Family Foundation will help us prepare students who excel in Engineering, Science and Business, while valuing and promoting entrepreneurship. It is consistent with our mission and gives Kettering another opportunity to enhance the University’s capacity to provide relevant opportunities to prepare for and even create the jobs of tomorrow.”

The grant has been awarded as part of the Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN), a program encompassing 22 universities and colleges across the country. KEEN aims to graduate engineers equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset who will contribute to business success and in so doing transform the U.S. workforce. The strength of the KEEN program is in this network of colleges that collaborate to share best practices in producing entrepreneurial-minded graduates.

Harris explained that through faculty training Kettering will expose students to entrepreneurship throughout their academic and co-op experience, including working with students to incorporate an entrepreneurial focus in their senior theses. To do this, key faculty and administration will establish a seminar in which representatives from each department will participate to learn the importance of entrepreneurship and to integrate it into their courses. Kettering faculty will also read articles, listen to and question guest speakers, and participate in a term-long workshop where the outcome is a revised syllabus for their own courses. They will also teach from the revised syllabus and document the changes made. Once the University has piloted this new system, it will serve as a model for other universities in the network to adopt or adapt as they reformulate their curricula.

In 2006 and 2007 respectively, Kettering received two $50,000 grants through KEEN to implement courses to instill the entrepreneurial mindset and develop the Kettering Entrepreneur Society (KES, www.kesociety.com). The KES is a student-lead organization that sponsors business plan competitions, provides support services and seed funding for start-up businesses in an effort at promoting an entrepreneurial culture at Kettering based on innovation. Developed through the efforts of Massoud Tavakoli, professor of Mechanical Engineering, Andy Borchers, interim head of the Dept. of Business, with assistance from William Riffe, professor of Manufacturing Engineering, entrepreneurial studies and the KES have shown tremendous success in attracting students interested in exploring their business ideas and launching a number of viable companies in Michigan.

For more on Kettering University, click on Kettering.Edu

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