Accepted Proposals

17. What if we launched an Entrepreneur Ambassador Program to inspire students, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, and provide mentorship, resources, and skill development in entrepreneurship?

May 16, 2025

The collaboration led by: Doug Higgins

With collaborators: Maddie Carrera; Tafara Godo; Jodi Mills; John Ossowski; Forrest Warner

A team of faculty, staff, and students will design a workshop series to develop entrepreneurial skills. Covering topics like design thinking, business strategy, marketing, financial literacy, and pitching, the workshops will run in fall 2025 and be open to all. Ten selected “Ambassadors” will complete the series and create a proposal for a national or global design competition. In spring 2026, two will become “Lead Ambassadors,” mentoring a new cohort to ensure continuity, leadership development, and community growth. This initiative empowers students to innovate, adapt, and create opportunities, fostering resilience and success in a rapidly changing world.

The proposal was submitted for CATALYST funding (less than $10,000) and was ranked medium with respect to the other proposals based upon the evaluation rubric.

The committee applauds the proposers for:

• A program that develops students outside the classroom, with the potential to include faculty
• Thinking broadly about how entrepreneurship aligns with the liberal arts  
• Meeting a growing need for students who wish to learn these skills

The points that the committee recommends the proposers need to continue to develop include:

• Build greater connection to the liberal arts, including interdisciplinary thinking and partnerships, creativity, ethical reasoning, and innovative problem-solving. 
• Finding ways to involve faculty 

From the committee’s perspective, the next phase of this project should include:

• Further developing the program with faculty partnership
• Researching programs on other campuses

The committee recommends funding the next phase of this proposal for $9,000 to move this idea forward for further aspirational design and development.