The Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts at Wake Forest University is proud to announce the initiation of the Hobbs Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement for Student and Faculty Entrepreneurs. The two awards of $2500 are made possible through the Russell D. and Elfriede Hobbs Fund for Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts from a gift of endowment of $1 million from Russ Hobbs, a 1988 Wake Forest graduate and founder of Blue Ocean Software.
The Faculty Award will recognize one Wake Forest faculty member or team who has made an outstanding contribution to the study and/or practice of entrepreneurship, either through exceptional support of the university’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts through teaching and mentoring, or through the creation and continuation of a unique and innovative entrepreneurial endeavor.
Eligibility: This award is open to all current Wake Forest faculty, across all departments and degree programs, on both the Reynolda and Bowman Gray campuses.
See the links below for details about application format. Faculty who wish to apply should submit their application by 5pm on Wednesday, April 1, 2009 to:
Hobbs Award
The Office of Entrepreneurship & Liberal Arts
128 Manchester Hall (Reynolda Campus)
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
Attn: Elizabeth Gatewood
Winners will be announced at the Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts’ annual Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards Banquet on April 16, 2009. Awardees are required to attend the banquet to receive the award.
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The Chambers Family Fund for Entrepreneurship is designed to provide a source of funding for projects and courses that encourage undergraduate and graduate students in entrepreneurial activities using the Internet or electronic commerce. Faculty who wish to submit an application for course development should submit a proposal
following the format below (parts A-D).
A. Objectives: State precisely what the project should accomplish and the rationale for undertaking it.
B. Methods: Discuss the design and methods proposed to accomplish project objectives in sufficient detail to allow assessment of their feasibility and applicability. Briefly identify any potential pitfalls or limitations of your project and suggest remedies. Proposals should contain a timeline or timetable of proposed activities to support the
project in the year of the award. In cases where the applicant is proposing the initiation of an internet based business, then the proposal should contain some information about preliminary feasibility and needs assessments which have been performed for this entity.
In those cases some preliminary thought should have also been given to the development of marketing and business plans. If the applicant’s plans require access to school systems, or other public places requiring permission to use their facilities, then letters of
intent to participate should also be included as an appendix. Examples of topics and outlines for how one might present these kinds of plans can be viewed in a companion document on this website that the Piedmont Entrepreneurial Network used for their Spark Business Plan competition.
C. Bibliography
Include only the most pertinent literature references.
D. Curriculum Vitae: Include a brief (not to exceed two pages) résumé.
Click here for more information on the Chambers Grants.
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FACULTY ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE PROJECTS
Purpose: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts provides seed funding for faculty entrepreneurial venture projects. By entrepreneurship we mean individuals or teams using their knowledge and resources to identify and pursue opportunities that initiate change and result in the creation of sustainable value in their lives and the lives of others. The value created may be economic value, but our definition also includes artistic, intellectual, scientific and social value. We seek to encourage innovative thinking about ways in which members of the Wake Forest faculty can leverage their disciplinary interests and skills to create sustainable differences that bring value to society.
Eligibility: The competition is open to all current Wake Forest faculty members, across all departments and degree programs. Applications are encouraged from individuals and groups who are simply at the idea stage, as well as those who are already engaged in starting up the venture project. While not required, faculty members are encouraged to include students in the research and operations phases of their proposal.
Categories of Proposals: We define “venture” very broadly. For example, the proposed ventures may be either profit or not-for-profit. They may be based on or leverage the knowledge of any discipline. In fact, we seek new ventures in five categories that span the Wake Forest community:
•Arts and Performing Arts (art, music, theatre and dance)
•Humanities (history, languages, literature, philosophy, religion)
•Social Sciences (anthropology, communication, cultural studies, economics, education, linguistics, political science, psychology, sociology)
•Natural Sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, neuroscience)
•Applied Sciences (business, computer science, mathematics, education, health and exercise science, journalism, law)
Proposals judged to be superior are eligible to receive a modest seed grant. Amounts will be determined on a case by case basis, but will not exceed $2,500 per proposal. The funds should be used to assist the proposal author(s) in researching the idea and starting up the venture project (funding does not include book proposals).
Evaluation Criteria and Judging: We seek more than just the description of an interesting idea. The proposal should include evidence demonstrating the need for the venture project or the problem the venture will address, a description of the product or service that will be offered, how that product/service will be produced and made available, the costs and revenues associated with producing and “selling” the product/service, an articulation of how value will be created, and plans for sustainability (see following page for guidance). The purpose of the proposal should be to persuade the reader that the opportunity to create value is real and has a sustainable impact.
A panel of faculty will review proposals and make award decisions.
Submission Details: The application should be no longer than 5 word-processed pages, single-spaced with 1-inch margins, using 11-point Times New Roman font. Please make sure to include the authors’ names and complete contact information in the application. RFPs are made in the fall semester. Fall Deadline is November 3, 2008. Click here to download the RFP. For more information, please contact
Betsy Gatewood
Office of Entrepreneurship & Liberal Arts
128 Manchester Hall (Reynolda Campus)
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
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758-3152
Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund
The Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund was established by the University Office of Entrepreneurship and Liberal Arts to stimulate projects between faculty of different Departments on the Reynolda Campus or between faculty on the Reynolda Campus and the Wake Forest Professional Schools.
Its goal is to stimulate entrepreneurial thinking in the broadest sense. Successful projects should provide fresh perspectives and encourage creative and sustainable solutions to real problems.
A maximum of up to $5,000 will be added to your Science Research Grant; or Cross-Campus Collaborative Research Fund for such an entrepreneurial project. The number of projects awarded is contingent upon availability of funds each year.
Science Research Grant, Fall Deadline -- October 10, 2008
Cross-Campus Collaborative Research Fund, Spring Deadline -- March 6, 2009
Applications for these programs can be found on the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs website at www.wfu.edu/rsp/funding
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