Calvin Enterprise Center Launches

November 15, 2007 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Summary: A new Enterprise Center at Calvin College will commercialize intellectual properties developed by the college and partners in the business community.

Full story see http://www.calvin.edu/enterprise/

The new Enterprise Center at Calvin College will help commercialize intellectual properties developed jointly by the college and partners in the business community.

"It will be a doorway," said David DeHeer, chair of the biology department and a person who helped spearhead the center's formation.

The center was formed this fall and already includes a part-time director, a faculty advisory board and a business advisory board.

Ron Lubbers, a 1967 graduate of Calvin and an erstwhile member of the Calvin business faculty, is the center's director. He is excited about what it can bring to the Calvin campus.

"President Byker noted that the Calvin community has such a wealth of talent," Lubbers said. "It seems fitting then that the college should foster the sharing of such wealth for the Lord's kingdom. We formed the Enterprise Center for that purpose."

Lubbers said the center will leverage the experience of Calvin faculty, alumni and the business community. He said these could be intellectual properties developed on campus by faculty and students, but they also could be properties developed by partners in the business community in conjunction with Calvin.

Lubbers said partnerships with businesses, alumni, investors or other interested parties to commercialize products and services will be a big part of what the center is all about.

"But," he added, "we also have an amazing faculty at Calvin, and our goal is to have the center be a real advocate for our faculty as they seek to possibly commercialize their work."

With the center just up and rolling, Lubbers said there already is no shortage of ideas.

In fact, he joked that running the center is likely to become "drinking out of a fire hose of profitable ideas."

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Received on Thu Nov 15 08:54:44 2007