The 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Graduate School of Management has $2 million in new seed money to spark entrepreneurship in California, thanks to a gift from the estate of Charles J. Soderquist, a 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis alumnus who founded and led several dozen high-tech companies in the greater Sacramento area.
Half of the $2 million will establish an endowment to support the management school's Center for Entrepreneurship, and the rest will be used to create the Charles J. Soderquist Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship.
Soderquist received his master鈥檚 degree in 1973 and his doctorate in 1978, both from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis in environmental chemistry. He died in 2004.
鈥淎lthough I did not have the good fortune to know Mr. Soderquist personally, I am grateful for his many years of dedication to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis,鈥 Chancellor Linda Katehi said. 鈥淧hilanthropic support, like that from the Soderquist estate, is critical to the growth of programs and helps to move us even higher within the top tier of the nation鈥檚 public research universities.鈥
Steven Currall, dean of the Graduate School of Management, said this gift will contribute to the momentum of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Center for Entrepreneurship.
鈥淭his is a trailblazing gift that will catapult the center to higher levels of recognition and achievement,鈥 he said.
The Center for Entrepreneurship got its start in the winter of 2004 when Soderquist, Graduate School of Management Professor Andrew Hargadon and Sacramento-based venture capitalist Scott Lenet co-taught a course that mixed Graduate School of Management students with graduate students from the life sciences and engineering program on campus. Students learned under the guidance of experienced entrepreneurs, investors and corporate leaders. Soderquist shared his experiences in launching new companies, along with his vision for how science and business could mix at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.
鈥淭he idea was to create a program that would not just teach entrepreneurship but create entrepreneurs,鈥 said Hargadon, who has served as the center's director since its inception. He assumed the Charles J. Soderquist Endowed Chair on Nov. 1. 鈥淲e felt that 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, with all of its science and engineering talent, could blossom if entrepreneurs helped bring those ideas out of the laboratories and into the broader world.鈥
Since then, the center has enrolled more than 40 doctoral candidates in the Business Development Fellows program (a yearlong series of courses and intensive weeklong 鈥渂oot camps鈥) and more than 300 national and international participants in its entrepreneurship academies. These scientists and engineers have turned their ideas into action, fostering the development of such innovations as energy-efficient LED street lighting, technology that can turn wastewater into biodegradable plastics, and designs for high-efficiency solar cells, among many other projects.
鈥淐harlie would have been proud to see the Center for Entrepreneurship blossom as it has,鈥 said Chancellor Emeritus Larry Vanderhoef, who counted Soderquist as a close friend and was instrumental in establishing the endowed chair. 鈥淗e was passionate about so many things, including the promise of science and technology to make this world a better place.鈥
Soderquist often defined entrepreneurship as 鈥渢he art of business,鈥 and he tirelessly engaged entrepreneurs to replicate themselves. The center married two of his passions 鈥 entrepreneurship and 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis.
Soderquist鈥檚 enthusiasm extended from the science, business and investment communities to education, art, literature and the environment. He was a staunch supporter of his alma mater and served as chair of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Foundation, a volunteer-led organization that receives private gifts to benefit 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and manages its endowed gift funds and other private assets. He also served as president of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association and as an alumni representative to the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Board of Regents.
Hargadon said he only wishes Soderquist could have seen that first class become a program that continues to grow and engage 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis students and scholars from around the world.
鈥淭here is nothing more fitting 鈥 nor more moving to me 鈥 than to have Charlie's name and continuing support attached to the program he helped create,鈥 Hargadon said.
About the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Center for Entrepreneurship
The Center for Entrepreneurship is one of three Centers of Excellence at the Graduate School of Management. It is a nexus for entrepreneurship education and research 鈥 and a springboard for entrepreneurial ventures 鈥 on the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis campus and beyond. The center teaches scientists and engineers how to move their ideas out of the lab and into the world. Through a set of programs, the center provides researchers with the necessary skills and knowledge to launch a venture, commercialize their research and prepare for a career in industry. Science, engineering and business students work together with experienced entrepreneurs, investors and corporate leaders in an environment that blends effective theory with hands-on participation and solution-driven innovation.
About the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Graduate School of Management
Established in 1981, the Graduate School of Management has enjoyed growing national and international prominence. U.S. News & World Report has ranked it among the top 50 public and private business schools for the past 14 years. It moved up to 40th place in the magazine's latest survey. The school has 120 students enrolled in a daytime MBA program at Gallagher Hall at the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis campus and more than 450 working professional students at campuses in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. Three Centers of Excellence are devoted to research and activities that have a powerful impact on the business world and enrich the curriculum with hands-on learning opportunities for students: 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Center for Investor Welfare and Corporate Responsibility, the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis MBA Consulting Center and the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Center for Entrepreneurship.
About 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis
For 100 years, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges 鈥 Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science 鈥 and advanced degrees from six professional schools 鈥 Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.
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Nicole Starsinic, Center for Entrepreneurship, (530) 220-2394, nstarsinic@ucdavis.edu
Tim Akin, Graduate School of Management, 530-752-7362, tmakin@ucdavis.edu