About the Program

Introduction
In 2008 Kenyon College launched an entrepreneurship program that began as the Emerging Leaders Program, which has now rebranded itself as Innovation Greenhouse. The program was supported by a grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, which has funded programs at a number of liberal arts schools in Ohio.

Innovation Greenhouse sponsors an emerging leaders retreat in November, and later hosts business-building workshops. It also provides business-development grants to winners of business concept and business plan competitions.

Students can start a small business at Kenyon or collaborate with a Knox County business. Students have previously started a student-run laundry service and an airport-shuttle service. Social enterprises, typically founded to correct social and environmental problems and sometimes non-profit in nature, are also expected to appeal to some young entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship Defined and Explored
"Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control." (Stevenson 1983, 1985, 1990, 2000.)

At its crux, entrepreneurship is a method in which creative ideas generate opportunities that are then brought to life--in this way it seeks to effect positive change in the world. Historically, new enterprise was created from a managerial perspective in which capital already held by a firm or organization was cautiously committed toward a new idea. Rapid changes in technology in the late 20th century meant that ideas that hold great value, such as the Facebook concept, could begin with very little investment and rapidly attract a huge customer base. Today's students have grown up in a world where college dropouts such as Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) have become billionaires starting only with an idea, a small founding team, and little or no capital. They do not just believe, but assume that they can create similar value.

The first two years of the program have proved this:

Winners of this year's business plan competition were first-year students.
A student project called "Local Lenders" seeks to provide microloans to enable farmers to produce and sell locally grown food.
A current prospective student, interested in history and English, is already running a T-shirt business that caters to the "streetwear."

These examples point to a new attitude in the upcoming generation: for them entrepreneurship is simply part of their life. It is part and parcel of their exploration of the world.

Connection to the Liberal Arts

Because liberal arts students develop skills in several disciplines such as critical thinking, scientific method, quantitative reasoning, and historical inquiry, they are well-equipped to identify innovative, market-based solutions to the challenges of the 21st century. This point of view builds on the 20th century idea of successful people who sought to "do well, then do good." Now, a new ethos prevails in which one can "do well by doing good."

Indeed, in a world where technical skills are increasingly commodified, the ability to think, write and speak intelligently empowers one to provide value through unique insight. The ranks of Fortune 500 CEOs are sprinkled with liberal arts grads such as A.G. Lafley, CEO of Proctor and Gamble, and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett Packard, who was an Art History major.

In the same way that a liberal arts education creates a framework for learning, this program will create a framework for leadership skills and innovation, said Christina Mastrangelo, Kenyon director of student activities and Greek life. "This is more about creativity," she said. "This will help students find their passions and help them find their strengths. We want to focus on, 'What are you going to do about it now?'"

Young people have always desired to have an impact on their world. What is quite different about the present age is that young people have access to "resources that they do not currently control" in ways never before possible.

Another aspect of the program is a semester-long course which will brings students together with successful entrepreneurs as well as professors from departments such as Sociology, Economics, and Psychology.

John Macionis, author, Professor of Sociology and Prentice Hall Distinguished Scholar, is expected to play a role in the program as it evolves. "I think everyone agrees that Kenyon has a responsibility to help develop tomorrow's leaders," he said. "The Morgan program adds a new dimension to those efforts."

Developing business leadership skills can be part of the role of a liberal arts college, he said. "We should try to prepare people for leadership in business, professional life, politics, and other areas," Macionis said. "The Morgan program will develop both entrepreneurship and leadership skills, but always with a Kenyon character."