Judith Cone, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for
Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Sept 1, 2011

Water War Poverty Environment
• What are the greatest challenges facing our region, state, nation, and world?
• What does it take to address them?
• Who can help the majority of global citizens, including those locally and nationally, who lack access to fundamental resources?

What is the role of major research universities in making the world a better place for all its citizens and protecting the planet – building on research and teaching?
(1M faculty, 20M students, top research facilities, billions in grants and investments
)
What does this mean for Carolina?

A TOP PRIORITY FOR CAROLINA IS TO:
 Deliver more innovations (unique, valuable, applied)
 Focus on outcomes
 Collaborate and be connected
 Have greater positive impact

How?
Within Research, Teaching, and Service

Be THE place where people move important ideas into impact.
The way must be clear and supported.
The story told.

Lowry Caudill , Chair Innovation Circle
John Akin , Chair Faculty Steering Committee
Hudson Vincent (Shruti Shah) , Chair Chancellor’s Student Innovation Team
Judith Cone , Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Innovation & Entrepreneurship innovate.unc.edu

With a special focus on urgent challenges , innovators and innovations launched at
Carolina consistently apply important ideas for a better world .

Values : That which is worth doing. Expressed in Vision/Mission/Goals.
Resources : Required people, time, money, facilities, and equipment.
Processes : Needed organization structures, rules, and methods.
Expressed in Vision / Mission / Strategy

• Across the campus, people are considering how they can contribute to solving big issues.
• New programs have emerged.
• Four working groups.
• Funds raised since launch on Oct 12, 2010.
• UNC Chapel Hill as national thought leader

• Social Innovation : Tom Uhlman and Jonathan Reckford convened stakeholders to discuss social innovation. Effect: Campus Y made important steps forward; School of Government taking a new role;
Center for Public Service involved.
• Commercialization : Christy Shafer and Don Holzworth, convened stakeholders. Effect: Chancellor has taken on this subject as one of his priorities and will convene all stakeholders/
• Innovation in the Arts and Humanities : Julia Grumbles doing an analysis of the issues and opportunities. IAH has taken a major role in convening faculty around this subject. Hogan Medlin convened a working group to advance this topic-CSIT doing Carolina Creates.
• Applied Sciences : Lowry Caudill is leading an analysis and working with faculty, deans, and leadership. Ed Samulski is faculty chair of the committee.

•
OTD, Carolina Kickstart, RENCI, B School all working together. Joint
MD/PHD between med school and B School in the works.
• Carolina Kickstart – strengthening itself to better serve startups in the life sciences.
• Exploration of seed funds: 1) grants and 2) investment; drawing in alumni.
• IAH – new $100,000 award for Faculty Innovation Grants.
• Dean’s Innovation Fund in Journalism from Innovation Circle member.
• Innovation Scholars – first one this year, four more for next year. 4-year full scholarship.
• Speaker Series: Desh Deshpande, Steve Case, Cheryl Dorsey, Bob
Langer in spring. This year will bring an expanded series, with partners across campus.
• Innovation Incubator in Chapel Hill

• IAH hosted a series of seminars on the co-authored book with
Chancellor Thorp and Buck Goldstein: Engines of Innovation.
• Career Services: Gary Miller, new title, includes innovation. Now hosting the CSIT meetings, incubator on Hanes fourth floor called H4 for the summer. Working on the Navigator concept using their technology.
• Medical School: Appointed Cam Patterson as Associate Dean of
Medical Entrepreneurship. Moved TRACS Carolina Kickstart under him.
Exploring how the medical and business schools could work together to do innovative work.
• Biomedical engineering – Nancy Allbritton, faculty entrepreneur – joint program with NC State. Integrating graduate and undergraduate.
Important step for Applied Sciences. Creating new commercialization program modeling on BioX from Stanford
• Entrepreneur-in-Residence: Expanding. Regular Meetings.
• Campus Y – strategic planning to strengthen it social innovation incubator to be created on 4 th floor of the Y.

• Students: CSIT just elected their new leader, Hudson Vincent. Working on Digital Navigator. Student Innovation Fair in April. Carolina Creates.
•
Global Education Center and School of Public Health working on
Entrepreneur-in-residence program about big challenges. Water conference huge success.
• First Year Seminars: Revupinnovation.com
• The Minor in Entrepreneurship in the College of Arts and Sciences, academic committee, getting closer to endowment goal and creating new course open to all undergraduates.
• University Entrepreneur-in-Residence, received endowment for position.
• Grant from Blackstone Charitable Foundation for entrepreneurial development in the Triangle. Brought in Duke, NC State, NC Central,
CED as partners.

A joint program of Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and CED-Council for Entrepreneurial Development, funded by the Blackstone Charitable Foundation.
• Harness the collective wisdom of Master
Entrepreneurs
• Scour the region – on and off campuses
• Select 30 of the hottest ideas in the Triangle at a time
• Guide them to Series A smart money using
ME’s knowledge, contacts and resources
Results: More/stronger companies; more intellectual assets put to use; better connections; a magnet for strategic partners and investors.

• Engines of Innovation book, co-authors Holden Thorp, Buck Goldstein.
• Obama administration entrepreneurship task force, Holden Thorp member
•
NACIE meeting held at UNC. Holden Thorp host. Ted Zoller presented his research.
• TedX at Ashoka U, Holden Thorp and Buck Goldstein
• Speaker at Atlantic Monthly/Microsoft Innovation Summit; UNC students featured. Holden Thorp
• Working with White House Office of Science and Technology, Holden
Thorp and Buck Goldstein
• Final reviewer for Obama $50M social innovation fund. Judith Cone
• Advisor for Ashoka, judge for awards. Judith Cone
• Keynote commercialization conference. Judith Cone
• Time magazine one of top 10 ideas that will change the world: Jack
Kasarda

• Mobile Apps Challenge – Student led, CS, Journalism, Art, etc. – Chris
Davis
• Apps development
•
Digital Navigation (one-stop shop for information on innovation and entrepreneurship at UNC) – joint student and administration effort
• Academic Plan – Key Themes – Water
• Academic Plan – Engagement Council – Engagement and Social Innovation

Innovate.unc.edu