Wake Forest University has received a $30 million gift to advance entrepreneurship education
It is one of the most significant gifts in Wake Forest University’s storied history. And its donor wishes to remain anonymous.
The Winston-Salem, North Carolina school received a $30 million gift that it says in a December 10 news release will be used to expand the university’s Center for Entrepreneurship and enhance access and opportunities for undergraduate students in the academic program.
The anonymous gift will enable Wake Forest to “increase the number of experienced entrepreneurship faculty, develop innovative new courses, and fund the construction of state-of-the-art space for the growing program,” the school announced.
MORE THAN 400 ENROLLED IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP COURSES
“This remarkable support allows us to elevate our Center for Entrepreneurship to new heights, ensuring extraordinary programs and offerings for our students,” Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente says. “This gift – and the inspiration it will spark – are vital to shaping the future achievements of students, faculty, staff and alumni. We are profoundly grateful for this gift and the ways in which it will enhance our capacity to educate entrepreneurial leaders of the future.”
Through the Center for Entrepreneurship, the university will offer students the opportunity to acquire core entrepreneurial skills, gain insights into the legal and financial foundations of new businesses, and collaborate with seasoned professionals to transform innovative ideas into successful ventures.
More than 400 students enrolled in Wake Forest’s entrepreneurship courses this fall. Its student startups have been recognized on Shark Tank and featured on “Oprah’s Favorite Things” list. Additionally, an award-winning teaching method called IDEATE was developed by professors at Wake Forest that helps students discover their best entrepreneurial ideas and is becoming a model for other universities nationwide.
‘WHAT IMPORTANT IDEAS ARE WE MISSING?’
With the $30 million gift, Wake Forest will add four new full-time professors of practice in the College of Arts and Sciences within the next two years — two faculty to begin teaching in the fall of 2025 and two more to begin in the fall of 2026. The professors will be “seasoned entrepreneurs and innovators in their respective fields committed to outstanding teaching,” the school announced.
According to the donor, the gift was driven by the question: “What important ideas are we missing by not having more opportunities for students to participate in entrepreneurship classes?”
“This investment will jumpstart our capacity to drive promising entrepreneurial ventures through our nationally-acclaimed system and increase the quality and quantity of student startups,” says Dan Cohen, the John C. Whitaker Jr. executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and professor of practice. “The generous gift will further the mission of the entrepreneurship program to foster innovative thinking and develop leaders capable of creating immense economic and societal value.”
