Christopher Cooney, associate professor (career track) of entrepreneurship in the Carson College of Business at Washington State University, has been named as the new director of the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship (CfE). He officially began director duties Aug. 16.
“I’m honored and excited to step into the director role,” said Cooney. “Connecting students directly with industry, and watching them build real ventures because of it, has been one of the greatest rewards of my career. That’s exactly the kind of experience the CfE is built to create, and it’s what drew me to this position.”
Over the years, Cooney has been a valued partner and contributor to many signature entrepreneurship programs at WSU. He has worked closely with the WSU Harold Frank Engineering Entrepreneurship Program, coteaching entrepreneurship courses, mentoring students, and accompanying Frank Scholars to Silicon Valley to connect with leaders of some of the world’s most innovative companies.
“We conducted a national search that produced a quality pool of candidates. Eventually, however, it became clear that directly appointing Chris was the best decision for the role,” said Debbie Compeau, Carson dean. “His teaching experience is unmatched, his connections in other colleges will help our collaboration efforts, and his industry experience will help facilitate our external partnerships. He is well respected across WSU, and global audiences have benefited from his entrepreneurial expertise.”
Cooney is recognized in the Carson College for his embrace of technology solutions to today’s business problems. One example is his Entrepreneurial Marketing capstone course in which student teams develop a working prototype for a mobile application, create a brand for their company, and launch a marketing campaign to bring their solution to market.
“What makes Chris’s class unique and valuable is that students leave with practical experience creating and refining solutions to these problems and a grasp of modern tools being used by professionals in the industry today,” said Marie Mayes, MISE Department chair.
Established in 1995, the CfE offers entrepreneurial opportunities to students and promotes engagement, scholarship, and dialogue across the university and with stakeholders throughout Washington and the world. The CfE is open to all students across the WSU system and provides programming, activities, resources, and events that help them identify the next step for their entrepreneurial journey.
One of the CfE’s signature events is the annual Business Plan Competition where high school, undergraduate, and graduate students compete for prize money as they pitch business ventures to a panel of judges.
Cooney has generously given his time as a Business Plan Competition judge, mentor, and workshop presenter while serving as a faculty advisor to the CfE and supporting student entrepreneurs through office hours and mentoring.
As director, Cooney will expand the center’s external partnerships, visibility, and reach while raising expectations of what students can accomplish.
“With recent industry reports highlighting the growing importance of combining creative problem solving with generative AI skills, CfE programming has an even more important role in preparing future business leaders,” Cooney said. “I’m thrilled to be leading entrepreneurial education that will have future economic impact in Washington state and beyond.”
