Faculty teaching ESE core courses or ESE electives

Bernadine Barnes
Teaches: Artists Inventing Markets (FYS).
Dr. Barnes, Professor of Art, has been teaching art history at WFU since 1989. She has also taught at American University in Washington, D.C. and at Syracuse University. Dr. Barnes received her Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. She is a specialist in Italian Renaissance art, particularly the art of Michelangelo. She has published many articles and books that focus on how Renaissance viewers responded to art.  She has also taught courses that focus on patronage and how important art centers like Florence, Venice, and Rome manage their artistic heritage.  (back to top)

Polly Black
Teaches: Foundations in Entrepreneurship (ESE101); Faculty Advisor for Independent Studies (ESE391), Internships (ESE350).
Ms. Black joined Wake Forest in 2010 where she teaches Entrepreneurship and is Faculty Advisor for the Internships and Independent studies.  Ms. Black also directs the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship where she works with WFU Student Entrepreneurs on their ventures.  Prior to joining WFU, Ms. Black was a Lecturer in the MBA and Executive Education programs at the UVA Darden School and a Bryan Mentor coaching undergraduate students at The Bryan School of Business and Economics UNC-G.  Ms. Black has a strong marketing track record in start-up, turnaround and growth situations.  She brings over twenty years of diverse business experience as a successful consultant and entrepreneur, as well as corporate experience with HanesBrands, Inc. and Frito Lay.  Ms. Black holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School, an MA from Columbia University and a BA from Vassar College. (back to top)

Lynn Book
Teaches: Creativity and Innovation (ESE100); Border Crossings: Creativity in the Mix and Margins (FYS)
Ms. Book is Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance and Faculty Fellow in Creativity. She is an innovative educator, internationally recognized performance artist and creativity consultant who joined WFU in 2005 to develop the innovation and creativity aspects of our program.  Prior to joining WFU,  she was with the The School of the Art Institutein New York City (1985-95), The Sidney Kahn Kitchen Summer Institute (2000-05),  and the Transart Institute in Austria. Her performance career includes citations, fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts and MacArthur Foundation. Ms. Book premiered Running Skywards, an interactive performance media project at Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in March 2007 for which she received the Archie Fund for Faculty Excellence at Wake Forest.  She has a BFA in sculpture and an MFA in performance art and media studies. (back to top)

  John Ceneviva
Teaches: Foundations in Entrepreneurship (ESE101)
Mr. Ceneviva is a faculty member in the Schools of Business where he teaches Strategy, Marketing and Entrepreneurship.  He first joined the Center for Entrepreneurship in 2009 where he was  responsible for implementing many of the Center’s programs designed to foster entrepreneurial thinking and action among students from all academic disciplines. He also guided independent studies (ESE 391), internships (ESE 350) and provided ongoing mentoring for our many student entrepreneurs.  Mr. Ceneviva is a senior marketing and sales executive with over 30 years experience with leading packaged goods companies such as Johnson and Johnson and Sara Lee Branded Apparel (currently HanesBrands, Inc.).  Mr. Ceneviva has a BA in Economics from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and an MBA from the University of North Carolina.  (back to top)

Tom Clarkson.
Teaches: Foundations in Entrepreneurship (ESE101)
Mr. Clarkson is an Adjunct Professor and former Director of the New Venture Incubator at the WFU Schools of Business. Previously, he was CEO of Otothera (a medical device company startup in the hearing arena) and has held senior Strategic Marketing and Business Development positions at other start-ups, including Kalon Semiconductor (an ultrawideband wireless semiconductor new venture); Coradiant (an early stage manufacturer of real user monitoring equipment for data centers);  Intel Wireless Networking Group (WNG); IPivot; and founder and VP Marketing of joint venture between Microsoft and QUALCOMM (Wireless Knowledge).  Mr. Clarkson has a BA in Physics from Wake Forest University, and a MS in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  (back to top)

Bill Conner
Teaches: Bioinspiration and Biomimetics (ESE357).
Dr. Bill Conner is the David and Lelia Farr Professor of Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship.  He has taught a first-year seminar entitled "Life's Devices" and upper-level courses in "Biological Innovation and Entrepreneurship", "Biomimetics: Nature's Way" and “Bioinspiration and Biomimetics”.  All focus on the interface of Biology and Entrepreneurship. His research interests include the behavioral genetics of autism using a Drosophila model. His laboratory explores the genetic underpinnings of autism the use of dietary chemicals to rescue normal behavior.  He is interested in entrepreneurship because he believes that innovations are frequently made at the interfaces of disciplines where new paradigms can lead to discovery. He and his students are currently funded by the National Science Foundation. (back to top)

Jan Detter
Teaches: Creativity and Innovation (ESE100); Social Entrepreneurship (ESE320)
Ms. Detter has worked in the field of visual arts for over 30 years. She received her BFA at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Design. She has worked as an artist in residence, an executive director of two different visual arts organizations, owned a design gallery for 7 years, and founded an annual fundraising event 13 years ago for a local non-profit that raises over $50,000 per year. She is a self -employed visual artist and arts/design consultant. She also teaches as an adjunct at Wake Forest University Divinity School on issues related to art and spirituality. She recently collaborated with the sculptor, Dempsy Calhoun, on a large sculpture that will commemorate Habitat's 20th anniversary in Forsyth County. (back to top)

Pat H. Dickson
Teaches: Strategy in Entrepreneurial Firms BEM372
Dr. Dickson is Associate Professor and Director of the Business and Enterprise Management degree program in the Schools of Business. He has also served as a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship on the faculties of Georgia Tech and the University of Louisville. Prior to earning his PhD in 1997 from the University of Alabama, Dr. Dickson spent fifteen years as an entrepreneur, co-founding companies in the automotive parts and service industry and as a corporate executive serving as Director of Franchising for a super regional retail and manufacturing company in the same industry.  Dr. Dickson has served on the executive boards for both USASBE and the Entrepreneurship Division of the Academy of Management and in recognition of his work in the field was named a USASBE Fellow in 2008. His research has appeared in top journals in the management and entrepreneurship fields and has been awarded a Certificate of Distinction for Outstanding Research by the Academy of Management and the National Federation of Independent Business. (back to top)

Patricia Dixon
Teaches: Arts and Activism (ESE204) (with Pat Willis)
Pat Dixon is Senior Lecturer in Music at Wake Forest.  Mrs. Dixon received her Bachelor in Music at the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts, and her Masters in Music at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.  She has performed in Spain, South America and the United States, appearing as a soloist in university artist series, in chamber music concerts, and has been featured with orchestras in Santiago, Chile, and the United States. She has presented lecture/recitals at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, the Cincinnati College-Music Conservatory, and the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts, among many others.  Mrs. Dixon directs the Wake Forest Guitar Series which brings national and international artists to the region.  (back to top)

Jonathan Duchac
Teaches: Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship (ESE335)
Dr. Duchac is the Merrill Lynch and Co. Professor of Accounting and Diretor of the Program in Enterprise Risk Management at Wake Forest University. He holds a joint appointment at the prestigious Vienna University of Business and Economics in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Duchac earned his Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Georgia and currently teaches intermediate and advanced courses in financial accounting and risk management. He has received a number of awards during his career, including the Wake Forest University Outstanding Graduate Professor Award and the T.B. Rose Award for Instructional Innovation.  In 2008 he was awarded the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Business at the Vienna University of Business and Economics. (back to top)

David Finn
Teaches: Creativity and Innovation (ESE100).
Mr. Finn has worked as a artist for thirty years and has had over 16 solo exhibitions of his sculpture, including shows in New York, London, Milan, Hong Kong and Sweden. The recipient of Fellowship grants from New York Foundation for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and most recently, the North Carolina Arts Council, Finn’s interests include stone and metalworking, organizational theory, creative thinking, and industrial design. Finn has taught art, creativity, and sculpture at Wake Forest University since 1995. He collaborated with students on two recent public art projects in Winston-Salem: a handicap accessible chess table and a 25 foot tall steel and ceramic ‘Diggs Tower’ at the Diggs Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts. (back to top)

Daniel S. Fogel
Teaches: Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship: Science, Policy and Economics (ESE335).
Dr. Fogel is Executive Professor of Strategy at the WFU Schools of Business.  Dr. Fogel's research and teaching areas are in international business and strategy including strategy development in firms in emerging and transition economies and innovation for large organizations. His international research and teaching had been conducted in several different countries in South America, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.  His current focus is on how organizations adopt sustainability practices and principles as part of their core strategies. He has published in behavioral studies, education, health care, psychology, sociology, economics, and management journals, and has written several books, cases and popular press articles. His books include Managing in Emerging Market Economies (Westview) and Firm Behavior in Emerging Market Economies (Avebury). Dr. Fogel received his B.S. and M.A. from the Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. (back to top)

Betsy Gatewood.
Teaches: Foundations of Entrepreneurship (ESE101); Independent Studies (ESE391) and Entrepreneurial Internships (ESE350).
Dr. Gatewood founded the entrepreneurship program at Wake Forest under the name Entrepreneurship in the Liberal Arts.  Currently she is the Director for WFU/NSF Partners for Innovation Progam and a Research Professor with the WFU Center for Enterprise Research and Education.  Before joining WFU, she was the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship and Director of The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Indiana University.  Prior to Indiana, Dr. Gatewood was the Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center Network which provides training and consulting services to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Dr. Gatewood founded and served as director of the Center for Business and Economic Studies at the University of Georgia.  She has written more than 70 articles, book chapters and monographs on entrepreneurial processes, women entrepreneurs and economic development, and is a recipient of the Academy of Management's Advocate Award for outstanding contributions to the field of entrepreneurship. Dr. Gatewood is a member of the Diana project, a research study of women business owners and equity capital access, which won the 2007 FSF-NUTEK Award, given in recognition of outstanding entrepreneurship and small business research. Dr. Gatewood is a graduate of Purdue University where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology. She received her MBA and her PhD from the University of Georgia. (back to top)

Michele Gillespie
Teaches: America at Work (ESE380)
Dr Gillespie is Kahle Family Associate Professor of History.  She teaches courses on the history of the American South, U.S. labor, women’s and gender history, and Europe and the World. Her research explores constructions of class, race, gender and region in the American South across the long 19th century. She earned her B.A. in History and English from Rice University, and her Ph.D. from Princeton.  She is completing a book-length manuscript on Katharine and R.J. Reynolds in the modernizing South. (back to top)

Linda S. Howe
Teaches: Non-Profit Arts and Education Entrepreneurship: Promotion of Latin-American and Latino Visual Culture (ESE315)
Dr Howe is an Associate Professor of Spanish in the Department of Romance Languages at Wake Forest University. Dr. Howe’s research focuses on Cuban culture, art and literature. She is the author of Transgression and Conformity: Cuban Writers and Artists after the Revolution, numerous articles on Cuban culture, and several English and Spanish translations of fiction and poetry. In 1997, she founded Wake Forest’s summer academic program at the University of Havana, which she directed until 2005. In 2005, Dr. Howe curated an exhibition for the San Francisco Center for the Book, titled Journey to the Source: Handmade Books from Cuba and presented a workshop about Vigía books to students from area universities. In 2007, she presented a show at the Kohler Art Library of the Chazen Museum at University of Wisconsin in Madison.  (back to top)

Benjamin T. King, Jr.
Teaches: Entrepreneurship BEM377 (for business majors)
Mr. King is a Professor of Practice at the WFU Schools of Business where he teaches entrepreneurship, management and negotiation.  In addition, Mr. King serves as the WFUSB faculty member responsible for the liason with the Program for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.  Ben King’s 18-year career in private industry included general management, sales and marketing, business venturing and strategy, supply chain management, and human resources responsibilities. These executive assignments included positions with York International and the Aftermarket Group.  He also served as Chairman of the State Board of Community Colleges for the Commonwealth of Virginia, a 23 college system with 225,000 students. In 1994, as a member of the Citizen’s Empowerment Commission, he worked to radically improve Virginia’s welfare system. He served Oklahoma Governors Frank Keating and Brad Henry as a member of the Governor’s Business Advisory Roundtable.  He holds an MBA with Distinction from Wake Forest University and a BAin History from the University of Virginia.  (back to top) 

Dilip Kondepudi
Teaches: Green Technologies: Science and Entrepreneurship (ESE351)
Dr. Kondepudi is the Thurman D. Kitchin Professor of Chemistry. His doctoral work in non-equilibrium thermodynamics was done under the guidance of Nobel Laureate Ilya Prigogine. During the last two decades, his research has focused on the highly interdisciplinary field of left-right asymmetry in nature. His research has been published in prestigious journals such as Nature and Science as well as major journals in chemistry and physics. He is a reviewer for over 20 scientific journals in physics, chemistry and engineering and is on the editorial board of the journal, Chirality. He has been a visiting professor at universities in Belgium, Japan and France. His text, Modern Thermodynamics, which he coauthored with Ilya Prigogine, has been published in 5 languages other than English and is currently used in over 20 countries. At Wake Forest University, he has taught courses in general chemistry, physical chemistry and physics and chemistry of the environment. His growing interest in sustainable economies and the elimination of global poverty has drawn him to teaching courses that encourage creativity and entrepreneurship.  (back to top)

Abdessadek Lachgar
 Teaches: Green Technologies: Science and Entrepreneurship (ESE351)
Dr. Abdou Lachgar is Professor of Chemistry at Wake Forest University. His Research and teaching interests are in the area of Materials Chemistry and Nanomaterials. The main focus of his research group is on the design and synthesis of multi functional materials for energy storage and environmental remediation. Current projects include the use of the molecular building block approach to prepare metal cluster based hybrid inorganic-organic materials through self-assembly processes, and their physical-chemical characterization. The goal is to develop the basic principles that will ultimately allow us to tailor make materials for specifically desired applications.  Dr. Lachgar received a B.S. in Material Sciences (1982) his Ph.D. in Materials Sciences (1987) from the Institute of Materials Jean Rouxel, University of Nantes, France.  (back to top)

Jed C. Macosko
Teaches: Life's Molecular Machines: Teaching a Whole New World in a Whole New Way (FYS) and Harnessing Life's Molecular Machines: From Aids Tests to Hydrogen Cars (FYS)
Dr. Macosko is Associate Professor of Biophysics at Wake Forest University. He graduated from MIT in chemistry with the Merck award for outstanding scholarship and earned a Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1999 for his work on the molecular machinery of influenza, HIV, and nerve cells. As a graduate student he developed new techniques to functionalize proteins and nucleic acids.  During this postdoctoral work, his skills in protein/DNA expression and modification allowed AFM and single molecule TIRF studies of HIV reverse transcriptase to be successful. Since August of 2004 the Macosko Lab at Wake Forest has used fluorescence and motion enhanced differential interference contrast (MEDIC) microscopy to study cellular transport machinery in living cells and in vitro, and has used standard chemical and molecular biology methods to develop enabling bead technologies for aptamer and small molecule selection. Macosko was a salaried consultant for Burstein Technologies, Inc. leading their bead-based HIV diagnostic project, and continues to use his AFM imaging and surface modification expertise to consult for Apieron Inc. as they develop a protein embedded sol-gel for monitoring nitric oxide in the management of asthma. (back to top)

Stanley W. Mandel
Teaches: Foundations of Entrepreneurship (ESE101); Managing the Entrepreneurial Venture: Startups to Early Growth (ESE205)
Dr. Mandel is Professor of Practice & Director, Angell Center for Entrepreneurship at the WFU Schools of Business.  Dr. Mandel has participated in the start-up of more than 15 organizations within the medical device, biotechnology, education, retail, financial services, health care, consulting and nonprofit sectors. He also advises and serves on the boards of student- and alumni-led start-up companies.  Dr. Mandel is an educator, frequent speaker, and consultant on issues that influence success within family businesses, entrepreneurial ventures, and university based entrepreneurship programs. His comments have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, regional and national business publications and in Entrepreneur magazine. (back to top)

Ananda Mitra
Teaches: Communication Technology and Entrepreneurship (ESE340)
Dr. Mitra is Professor and Chair of the Communications Department at WFU.  He received his Ph.D from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Dr. Mitra teacheas Introduction to Mass Communication, Mass Communication Theory, Communication and Technology, Intercultural Communication, Communication and Popular Culture, Empirical Research Methods in Communication.  His research interests include the study of mass media in society; the impact of new communication technologies on popular culture and on institutions; cross-cultural production of mediated images, particularly in the case of South Asia.  (back to top) 

Mary Martin Niepold
Teaches: Introduction to Professional Writing (ESE203)
Ms Niepold received her BA from Wake Forest University and is currently a visiting instructor for the department of English/Journalism. Ms. Niepold is also a free-lance writer for several publications including The Associated Press, Copley News Service, Winston-Salem Journal, and Theater Critic. She teaches Writing For a Purpose, a course that uses writing as a means to further social entrepreneurship. (back to top)

Paul Pauca
Teaches: Introduction to Computer Science: Mobile Computing and Entrepreneurship (ESE121)
Dr. Pauca is Associate Professor of Computer Science at Wake Forest University.  His research interests include biometric image recognition; digital image processing; scientific software design and human computer interfaces for elderly and disabled children.  An entrepreneur himself, he has successfully developed and marketed an app for the iPhone and iPad for the disabled to be able to communicate their wants and needs to their caregivers.  He is now working on one to help teach disabled children. (back to top)

David Phillips
Teaches: Social Entrepreneurship and the Humanities:  Innovation, Public Engagement and Social Change (ESE321)
Dr. Phillips is Associate Professor for the Humanities at Wake Forest University.  His areas of interest and research are Japanese architecture and planning, urban history, and cultural studies.  Dr. Phillips has his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Cornell University.  (back to top)

Jeanne Simonelli
Teaches: Free Trade, Fair Trade: Independent Entrepreneurs in the Global Market (ESE325)
Dr. Simonelli, an applied cultural anthropologist, is professor and chair of Anthropology at Wake Forest University. Her anthropological field experiences are united by the broad theme of change and choice in difficult situations. She works in areas of economic development and conflict resolution in Chiapas, Mexico and was 2005 Forchheimer Visiting professor at the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace in Jerusalem. Dr. Simonelli uses an applied service component in classes and is interested in having students bring an anthropological perspective into the local community. Her principal publications include Uprising of Hope: Sharing the Zapatista Journey to Alternative Development (2005); Crossing Between Worlds: The Navajos of Canyon de Chelly (1997); Too Wet To Plow: The Family Farm in Transition (1992); and Two Boys, A Girl, and Enough! (1986). Dr. Simonelli received her doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.  At Wake Forest, she directs the Southwest Summer Program, and is co-director of the University of Texas-El Paso/Wake Forest Chiapas Project. (back to top)

J. Bren Varner
Teaches: Foundations of Entrepreneurship (ESE101); Managing the Entrepreneurial Venture: Startups to Early Growth (ESE205); Faculty Advisor for Independent Studies (ESE391), Internships (ESE350).
Mr. Varner is a faculty member in the Schools of Business where he teaches classes in entrepreneurship, strategy and management. He previously served as the Program Director for the University Center for Entrepreneurship where he managed the co-curricular initiatives for the Wake Forest entrepreneurship program. He advises students and student groups looking to further explore the field of entrepreneurship and start new ventures.  Prior to coming to Wake Forest, Mr. Varner worked with numerous entrepreneurial ventures and has provided merger and acquisition advisory services for companies in the software and IT industries. Mr. Varner received his bachelor's degree in business from Wake Forest University and his master's degree in business administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. (back to top)

Robert Whaples
Teaches: Economics of Entrepreneurship (ESE371) and Entrepreneurs in American History (FYS)
Dr Whaples is professor and chair of the Economics Department. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1983 with B.A.'s in Economics and History, and earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. Dr. Whaples won the Allen Nevins Prize from the Economic History Association for his dissertation, "The Shortening of the American Work Week: An Economic and Historical Analysis.” He is the Director of EH.NET, which runs a website dedicated to making economic and business history accessible to the public – at www.eh.net - and edits EH.NET's online Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History. His course Modern Economic Issues, which includes 36 thirty-minute lectures, is available on CD and DVD from The Teaching Company. (back to top)

Patricia Willis
Teaches: Arts and Activism (ESE204) (with Pat Dixon)
Dr. Willis is the Activist in Residence of the Women's and Gender Studies at Wake Forest University.  Her areas of interest are Women's Human Rights according to U.N. conventions; Local and Global Social Movements.  Dr. Willis earned her PhD from tate University of New York at Albany.  (back to top)