Â鶹ӰԺ the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative
The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative aims to align and optimize resources across the Â鶹ӰԺ campus that support innovation and entrepreneurship—in an inclusive, multidisciplinary understanding—to reach across traditional silos, facilitate collaboration, fuel achievement and build the university’s reputation.Ìý
Innovation and entrepreneurship are pivotal to CU Â鶹ӰԺ's success and growth. As a leading academic institution, the university significantly emphasizes a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among its students, faculty and staff. CU Â鶹ӰԺ encourages the development of groundbreaking ideas and entrepreneurial ventures by cultivating creative thinking, risk-taking and problem-solving. This drives academic excellence and equips the university to tackle societal challenges and contribute to economic development.
CU Â鶹ӰԺ actively promotes innovation through research, technology transfer and entrepreneurial initiatives, transforming visionary concepts into practical solutions with a positive impact locally and globally. Embracing innovation and entrepreneurship enhances the university's reputation, attracts top talent and fosters collaborations with industry partners, furthering its mission of advancing knowledge and making a meaningful difference in the world.
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Campus Hubs for Innovation andÌýEntrepreneurship
Explore all of CU Â鶹ӰԺ's innovation and entrepreneurship programming in theÌýPrograms and Resources Guide.
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Initiative Awards
The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative recognizes outstanding students, faculty, staff and entrepreneurial mentors through a variety of awards and honors. Awardees are nominated annually by staff in our CU Â鶹ӰԺ innovation ecosystem.
The Frank MoyesÌýAward recognizes an outstanding faculty or staff member who have demonstrated exceptional interest and accomplishments in innovation and entrepreneurship during their time at CU Â鶹ӰԺ.
2024 Recipient:ÌýChunmei Ban
- 2020: Brad Bernthal
- 2019: Kyle Judah (pictured)
- 2018: Doug Smith
- 2017: Erick Mueller
- 2016: Rick Han
- 2015: Ashley Tillman
- 2014: Seth Murray
- 2013: Zach Nies
The award is named after , a former tech executive and Entrepreneurship Scholar-in-Residence with the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business.Ìý
Frank created threeÌýamazing chapters in his career. He first served as an executive and leader in multinational corporations from GE to Owens-Illinois. He then founded a successful company that sold to a Fortune 50 company. His last chapter was as an inspiring and influential entrepreneurship teacher where he taught students how to think and act like entrepreneurs. In this last chapter, he created significant impact throughout CU Â鶹ӰԺ and the entrepreneurship community, creating new classes, founding new programs and being one of the founding members of the New Venture Challenge.
The Fletcher Richman Award recognizes an outstandingÌýstudent who has demonstrated exceptional interest and accomplishments in innovation and entrepreneurship during their time at CU Â鶹ӰԺ.
2024 Recipient:ÌýHarris CunninghamÌý
- 2020: Rachael Sharpe
- 2019: Andrew Morton (picturedÌýcenter)
- 2018: Danielle Dannenberg
- 2017: Kaly Trupp
- 2016: Jeff Hopfenbeck
- 2015: Jamie Finney
- 2014:ÌýFletcher Richman
The award is named after , a CU Â鶹ӰԺ alum (ElCompEngr'14) and current Sr. Manager, Product of Halp at Atlassian. He originally founded and served as CEO of Halp, was acquired by Atlassian in 2020.
As a student, Fletcher participated in several innovation and entrepreneurial-related programs while at CU Â鶹ӰԺ, such asÌýcompeting in New Venture Challenge (NVC);Ìýlanding a spot in the first-ever internship class; co-founding a student coworking spaceÌýcalled Spark Â鶹ӰԺ (now closed); and co-founding and participating in the university's summer startup accelerator, Catalyze CU.
The Entrepreneurial Mentor Award recognizes an outstanding entrepreneurial mentor who demonstrates the ability to go above and beyond in mentoringÌýCU Â鶹ӰԺ entrepreneurial students, faculty, staff and startup teams.
2024 Recipient:ÌýIvan PortillaÌý
- 2020: Rich Kopcho
- 2019: Scott Fox (pictured left)
- 2018: Tim Hill
- 2017: Rich Piech
- 2016: Peter Kovari
- 2015: Keith Mountain
- 2014:ÌýRich Boyan
- 2013: Gary Moskoff
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Initiative Staff
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