Faculty Support from E&I

If you are interested in exploring entrepreneurial possibilities related to your research, please reach out to E&I director Carolyn Strobel-Larsen. Our office can connect you to internal and external resources and opportunities. In addition, we can facilitate introductions to alumni mentors and local advisors who have first-hand experience developing entrepreneurial ideas based off of novel research and mentoring others in similar pursuits.

Regional I-Corps programs guide academic researchers in exploring the commercial viability of a startup idea based on their research. These virtual programs are approximately one month long and combine self-directed online learning activities, with six Zoom-based meetings and two one-on-one instructor check-ins. 

Colgate provides mentorship and funding for faculty-student teams participating in regional I-Corps programs. Carolyn Strobel-Larsen can assist with identifying an upcoming program, submitting an application, and arranging for support from E&I.

In spring 2024, Noah Apthorpe, assistant professor of computer science, and two students participated in a regional I-Corps program. “I learned much about the technology needs of small- and medium-sized businesses and nonprofits that will be useful for future academic research independent of whether we continue working on the startup,” said Apthorpe.

E&I works closely with the Office of the Provost and Dean of the Faculty to provide intellectual property support to faculty.  The University’s intellectual property policies apply to the ownership of patents and copyrights in works invented or created by Colgate students, staff, and faculty. The committee on intellectual property serves as an advisory committee to the Provost on all University-related intellectual property issues.

E&I has established a new partnership with the SU Innovation Law Center to provide the opportunity for faculty members to receive a patent landscape analysis report that assesses the patentability and market potential of their research.  To learn more, reach out to Carolyn Strobel-Larsen.

Upcoming Workshop: Intellectual Property, Feb. 7, 2025, 3:30–4:30 p.m.
This workshop, organized by E&I and offered as part of the NASC colloquium, will provide an overview of key concepts and considerations for intellectual property, including patents, trade secrets, copyright, and more.

If you are planning or considering organizing a program that has thematic connections to entrepreneurship and innovation, please reach out to us about co-sponsorship opportunities.

Past collaborations have included:

• ALANA Social Justice Summit, spring 2024: With a theme of “Creativity and Innovation in Action,” this summit aimed to have participants examine how groups are utilizing more creative and innovative platforms to strengthen and push forward social movements.
• Joseph Yoon visit, fall 2023: Chef Joseph Yoon, the self-proclaimed edible insect ambassador and founder of Brooklyn Bugs, visited campus for a two-day visit that included a presentation at an ENST Brown Bag Lunch and insect tasting event for the Commons.
• WMST Brown Bag: Untangle, fall 2023: Mariam Nael ’18 shared about her experience founding Untangle, a mission-driven organization making sex and consent education inclusive, accessible, and fun. 

Applicants to the Colgate Arts Council now have the opportunity to apply for supplemental funding from E&I for projects that have a connection to entrepreneurship and/or innovation.

CAC applications that have received supplemental funding from E&I include:

• Jalabil, fall 2024: Jalabil is a collective of 10 Maya women weaving artists. With a dual mission–to preserve techniques and designs specific to their community, and to explore new materials and forms in their artistry–Jalabil’s members collaborate within a horizontal, consensus-based organizational structure that promotes their autonomy as Indigenous creators and as women.
• Theatre of the Oppressed, fall 2024: Theatre of the Oppressed is a form of popular community-based education that uses theatre as a tool for transformation. This visit will explore the nexus between theory and performance practice, fostering critical reflection, emotional engagement, and potential action as a community to address social (in)equities of race, ethnicity, and gender, as well as the crucial role of the arts in exposing these issues.
• Avery Trufelman, spring 2024: Avery Trufelman is the critically-acclaimed host of Articles of Interest, which was named one of the best podcasts of the year by The New Yorker. This campus visit included a public lecture on fashion and a teaching table for faculty and staff about about podcasting as a genre and tool for storytelling, scholarship, and pedagogy.

E&I provides thought partnership for new and emerging opportunities connected to the Middle Campus Initiative for Arts, Creativity, and Innovation. We look to support initiatives that activate the potential of the Middle Campus, create bridges between the curricular and co-curricular, and aim to establish financially sustainable operations. For these types of opportunities, we can provide thought partnership, connections to external advisors and resources, and startup capital.

Recent projects that we have supported include:

• Colgate Writers Conference: The CWC is an annual summer conference hosted at Colgate University that offers a creative and nurturing environment for writers at all stages of their careers. This conference, established in 1996, is undergoing strategic planning to build a sustainable financial model while supporting diversity and accessibility.
• Cannes Film Festival Program: The Department of Film and Media Studies has partnered with The Gotham Film and Media Institute to develop a pilot program at the Cannes Film Festival that includes micro-internships, screenings and talks, networking opportunities, and faculty-led discussions. The program’s organizers aim to establish a replicable program and financially-viable structure that will support ongoing operations.

E&I is a resource for faculty who are interested in integrating entrepreneurship and innovation methodologies and topics into the classroom. We welcome faculty interest in these areas; please reach out to Carolyn Strobel-Larsen to discuss potential collaboration.

E&I is a proud contributor to Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend. This annual weekend brings hundreds of alumni, parents, and friends to campus for performances, workshops, presentations, and panel discussions. E&I works with other departments and offices that are part of the Middle Campus Initiative to provide interdisciplinary engagement opportunities for faculty and students, as well as campus guests.

Launched in fall 2023, the 13 Machine brings excitement and novelty to any moment on campus. This uniquely Colgate pop-up vehicle is available for use by any office or department on campus for serving food and drinks and other engagement opportunities.

The Hub is a certified NYS Incubator in downtown Hamilton that offers small business advising, coworking, and other resources. The Hub can be reserved for classes, workshops, and meetings. The Hub is currently located at 8 Lebanon St. while construction is underway on the new mixed-use development building.

Thought Into Action programs are immersive co-curricular experiences for students to create businesses, nonprofits, and campus initiatives while developing entrepreneurial skills along the way.

• The TIA Incubator is an experiential, mentorship-based program during the academic year where participants take an idea to reality. 
• The TIA Summer Accelerator is a full-time summer program for promising ventures led by students and recent alumni.

For students, TIA provides an opportunity to take action on an issue about which they are passionate, including issues they are thinking about in the classroom. We encourage faculty to refer exceptional students to TIA, and we also offer class visits to talk about how students can leverage TIA to make an impact on the world.

Creative Endeavors is an eight week long interactive workshop series for students and community members offered by Arts at the Palace, The Hub, and E&I. This series is aimed at creative individuals who are interested in taking the first step in a creative career, learn business basics, and identify resources to help future progress. A dozen participants—almost evenly split between students and community members—were part of the first cohort in spring 2024.
 

Colgate’s Design for America Studio, led by the Innovation Fellows, is a group of students who work together using human-centered design approaches to develop solutions to problems facing the campus and community. DFA and the Innovation Fellows is a three-year pilot collaboration between E&I, ITS, and faculty.

E&I offers class visits to connect entrepreneurship to the classroom and talk about how students can leverage TIA to make an impact on the world.