02-09-04

IOWA STATE TO CREATE ENTREPRENEUR LEARNING COMMUNITY

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University is looking for 35 would-be entrepreneurs to live in its newest student learningcommunity.

The "Entrepreneur and Innovation Learning Community" will be on the fifth floor of newly remodeled Buchanan Hall, andwill house undergraduate and graduate students together in single or double suites available in fall 2004. It's thefirst residence at Iowa State designed for students who have either considered starting a business or may already berunning one.

Full-time Iowa State students interested in joining the learning community also may demonstrate entrepreneurship inother ways, including:

• Participating in ISU's 100-member Entrepreneur Club
• Attending workshops or business seminars
• Enrolling in entrepreneurship courses
• Declaring an "entrepreneurial studies" minor
• Getting involved in experience-based entrepreneurial learning opportunities
• Demonstrating academic and leadership achievements

"Residents in the learning community will have unique opportunities to take entrepreneurship courses and participate ina variety of learning and mentoring experiences to help them understand entrepreneurship and launch their ownbusinesses," said Judi Eyles, director of programs and marketing for the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship at IowaState.

Eyles said the spark to create the learning community came from Iowa State President Gregory Geoffroy, who had workedwith a similar program at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he had served as senior vice president foracademic affairs and provost.

"Entrepreneurship is one of the fastest-growing parts of Iowa State's learning environment, with innovative programs incurriculum, student activities and outreach," Geoffroy said. "I want Iowa State to be the place that high schoolstudents in the Midwest come to study entrepreneurship."

President Geoffroy's vision includes great potential for cross-disciplinary benefit, Eyles said. Students majoring inchemistry, marketing, engineering and other disciplines will live together and network on ideas for newbusinesses.

"This will be a rich environment of business-focused students, all with the desire and goal of creating their ownproduct -- but coming at those shared goals with the experiences gained in each of their individual colleges andprograms," Eyles said. "The potential synergies for individual or team-based business opportunities will be unmatchedby any similar college program."

The first 35 students accepted into the program will help design and develop the entrepreneurial learning community.Potential areas for growth in the learning community include more mentoring by small business owners, expandedinternship opportunities and more direct business relationships between students and the Ames community.

The university also has formed a steering committee to guide the learning community's physical space, academicstructure and programming. Chaired by Vice President for Student Affairs Tom Hill, the committee includes ninestudents. Other committee members include Labh Hira, dean of the College of Business; Jim McElroy, associate dean ofundergraduate programs in the College of Business; Steve Carter, director, ISU Research Park; Eyles, of the PappajohnCenter; Randy Alexander, director of the Department of Residence; and Doug Gruenewald, assistant director, Departmentof Residence.

Students interested in living in the learning community must complete an application and attend an interview. Moreinformation is available athttp://www.isupjcenter.org/ELCor calling(515) 296-6532. Applications may be mailed or delivered to the ISU Entrepreneur Program Office, Room 127, MemorialUnion, Ames, IA 50011-1130; or to the Pappajohn Center, 2501 N. Loop Dr., Ames, IA 50010-8283.

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