New program offers faculty support for entrepreneurial research and activities

The A. B. Freeman School of Business has long supported the entrepreneurship-related interests of its faculty members. Now, a new program of the school seeks to expand that support to faculty from across the university.

The Lepage Faculty Fellows program will award grants of up to $10,000 per year to Tulane faculty members working in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation. Administered by the business school’s Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the program offers support not only for teaching and research but also the entrepreneurial activities of faculty members, including the commercialization of technologies and costs associated with starting a new company.

“Tulane faculty members are among the most innovative and creative in the world, and we want to play an active role in promoting their insights and activities,” said Rob Lalka, executive director of the Lepage Center.

“With the Lepage Faculty Fellows programs, we hope to take entrepreneurship research at Tulane to the next level while also seeding innovation and new technologies across the university,” added Ira Solomon, dean of the Freeman School.

The grants can be used for a variety of activities, including conducting research surveys and licensing data sets, traveling to and attending industry conferences, and hiring graduate assistants for research or commercialization activities.

By putting new resources behind entrepreneurship-related projects, Lalka says he hopes to promote collaboration among faculty from business, science and engineering, medicine, law and other divisions of the university.

“Entrepreneurship not only unlocks the potential of individual leaders, but it can also inspire groups to collaborate in new and innovative ways,” Lalka said. “My hope is that this program will support our very best faculty in their teaching, research and business ideas, and help spark new ideas and discoveries.”

The program is open to all tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty and professors of the practice who are actively researching, publishing, teaching or mentoring students in entrepreneurship, innovation, venture capital, small business or related fields. Fellowships will be awarded annually for up to three years and are a core program of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship Research, which is housed at the Lepage Center.

To learn more about the program and apply online, visit https://entrepreneurship.tulane.edu. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis with a final deadline of September 28 at 5 p.m.