The Yale School of Management (SOM) last week announced the launch of a formal Entrepreneurship Program, which will feature expanded course offerings and enhanced recruitment of entrepreneurial faculty and students. It also appointed a new director of entrepreneurial programs and pledged new scholarships and financial support to entrepreneurial students—all as part of a major new commitment to entrepreneurship at the school.
Kyle Jensen, PhD, was appointed the inaugural Shanna and Eric Bass ’05 Director of Entrepreneurial Programs and lecturer in entrepreneurship on April 17th. Beginning his official duties on July 1st, Jensen will design and teach entrepreneurship courses, recruit and advise student entrepreneurs, establish programming to complements the work of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI) and more.
“Now is the perfect time for us to take this big step forward, to build on our momentum, to appoint a great leader of entrepreneurial programs that will become more cohesive, to connect more systematically throughout Yale, and to engage with faculty and students throughout the Global Network for Advanced Management to take advantage of opportunities in all sectors and regions,” Yale SOM Dean Edward A. Snyder said in a statement.
Jensen’s appointment coincided with the launch of a formal Entrepreneurship Program at Yale SOM. Jensen and his team will work from the newly established Entrepreneurial Studies Suite in Edward P. Evans Hall.
SOM also announced last week that it has established two new scholarships for students in each entering MBA class, to be granted on the basis of demonstrated interest in entrepreneurship and future potential as an entrepreneur. The school will also name up to five Entrepreneurial Fellows each year. These Fellows, after graduation, will receive two years of loan deferral to enable them to work full-time on a startup.
“Yale SOM’s unique integrated core is the perfect foundation for anyone looking to start a new venture, and we have observed increasing numbers of our graduates starting their own businesses in recent years,” Anjani Jain, senior associate dean for the MBA program, said in a statement. “Our curriculum ensures that our students not only acquire essential business competencies, like building high-performance teams and managing assets and cash flow, but also understand how every important decision affects the entire organization and the environment within which it operates.”
The expanded commitment to entrepreneurship has been made possible thanks to donor contributions of more than $7 million toward the threshold goal of $12 million for the program build-out, the school reports.
Eric Bass ’05, managing partner at Houston-based Velite Benchmark Capital Management, praised SOM’s increased focus on entrepreneurship. “When I was at SOM a decade ago, it wasn’t always obvious to student entrepreneurs where to go for advice and counsel. With YEI and other activities on campus, students clearly have more resources now,” he said in the statement announcing Jensen’s appointment. “Putting some additional structure around support for entrepreneurs at SOM and ensuring that all Yale graduate and professional students have access to invaluable coursework is exactly the right next step.”
Learn more about Yale SOM’s expanded commitment to entrepreneurship.
