International pioneers of cutting-edge inventions and breakthrough products will be the focus of Washington State University’s new, interactive Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hall of Fame.
“We believe this will be the first center in the world to highlight the accomplishments of these very dynamic and creative people,” said WSU College of Business and Economics Dean Len Jessup.
The hall will serve as the entrance to the planned state-of-the-art Pullman learning facility, the Grant Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, named for Gus Grant, co-founder of Sprint and a 1941 WSU alumnus. Grant has been a driving force behind WSU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Initiative, which charges the College of Business and Economics to infuse entrepreneurship, creative thinking and problem-solving into some 245 fields of study universitywide.
“The initiative inspires every student in every undergraduate major and graduate program to literally think about their subjects in new ways and to develop an awareness of how to apply that when starting and/or conducting business,“ Jessup said. “As they develop their ideas and careers, they will help ensure sustained national innovation and economic successes.“
The hall-of-fame entrance will lead students and visitors into learning spaces in the building’s Collaborative Learning Center, where traditional classrooms will be replaced by reconfigurable and resizable suites designed to foster and support brainstorming, collaboration, analyses and high-tech presentations.
Some aspects of the hall were inspired by Microsoft co-founder and WSU alumnus Paul Allen’s Experience Music Project in Seattle.
“The hall of fame also will provide a powerful vehicle for teaching and learning. Students in the Grant Institute will be involved directly in the design, construction and management of the hall,“ Jessup said.
The Grant Institute project is already in motion. Initial funding and the commitment of a facility were secured in 2003, planning and design are under way, and renovation and construction are scheduled to begin in 2005.
Next Story
Provost selection process ongoing
WSU expects to name its next provost before the end of April. President Kirk Schulz is actively considering two finalists, with feedback provided by the university community being a key factor in the decision.
Recent News
WSU Press, Whitworth University team up for new publishing deal
Pines Press, a first-of-its-kind collaboration, was conceived by WSU Press Editor-in-Chief Linda Bathgate and Amanda Clark, Whitworth University’s dean of the library and special programs.
E-tongue can detect white wine spoilage before humans can
While bearing little physical resemblance to its namesake, the strand-like sensory probes of the “e-tongue” still outperformed human senses when detecting contaminated wine in a recent WSU-led study.
Employee Assistance Program hosts special sessions, April 17
Washington State Employee Assistance Program Director Jennifer Nguyen will lead two discussions tomorrow on the topics of change and personal wellbeing. Both presentations will be livestreamed.
AAPI Heritage Month celebrates the state’s fastest-growing minority population
Washington’s second-largest and fastest-growing minority population is Asian American Pacific Islander — a Census term that refers to people with origins in countries stretching from India to Hawaii, from Japan to Tonga.
The 2024 Seattle Experience highlights resiliency
The faculty-led alternative spring break program hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences helps students develop professional skills while networking with business leaders in the region.
Deadly bacteria show thirst for human blood
A WSU-led study has found the some of the world’s deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a phenomenon researchers are calling “bacterial vampirism.”