John W. Altman Institute Wins NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Excellence Award

Miami University and the Farmer School’s John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship has been named winner of the 2020 NASDAQ Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award. Since 2019 I have had the honor of serving on the institute’s advisory board, helping to fundraise for the Institute, develop new programs to differentiate the Institute’s curriculum, and support its branding/communications strategy. This new award places them among the top U.S. universities for entrepreneurs.

Headed by Professor Tim Holcomb with support from the university’s president, Greg Crawford (formerly of Notre Dame), the program far exceeds the impact and reach you might expect from an Institute located at an undergraduate institution in the Midwest. I met Greg when serving as CEO of Cintrifuse in Cincinnati. His background as an entrepreneur and leader of innovation at Notre Dame was well aligned with the work I led in the Greater Cincinnati Region. Currently President Crawford serves on the Cintrifuse Board of Directors.

The Institute offers year-round programs that develop the next generation of entrepreneurial talent. In addition to the popular RedHawk Launch Accelerator and annual RedHawk Pitch Contest, the Institute coordinates the growing Altman Summer Scholars Internship program which has placed more than 250 students at internships with over 50 companies across the U.S.—from hot startups, to venture capital and innovation firms, to prestigious BigCo corporate innovation programs. Among students placed in internships, 56% are female—I applaud them!

Given annually by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, the NASDAQ award recognizes programs that advance entrepreneurship as a force for economic growth. Centers at the University of California, Berkeley; MIT; Columbia; Stanford; and Cornell are among those previously recognized. Congratulations to the institute and to President Greg Crawford and Professor Holman as they continue to innovate by tapping into their alumni and ecosystem leaders to ensure they are keeping their curriculum standards high and student momentum strong.

And as we say #LoveandHonor!