Citing their belief that "the future of business in the 聭new economy聮 is in entrepreneurship and e-commerce," Bob and Beverly Deming have backed up that sentiment with a $500,000 gift to endow an entrepreneurship professorship at CU-Boulder聮s College of Business and Administration.
The gift is in addition to the Deming聮s gift two years ago of $3 million to the burgeoning Entrepreneurship Center, which now bears the Deming name.
"We want people to join us in helping make this a top 10 school through promotion of entrepreneurship and e-commerce," said Deming, who attended the University of Colorado on scholarships and earned bachelor聮s and master聮s degrees in the late 1950s. At CU, an accounting course with Professor Bob Wasley turned the pre-med student into a business major, and Deming went on to get a doctorate in business administration at Harvard while on a Ford Foundation Fellowship.
Today, the Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, which is a joint program of the colleges of business and engineering, focuses on "real world" experiences through its course curriculum, guest lectures, case studies, internships, mentoring and business plan competitions.
The impassioned Deming hopes the gift will inspire investors interested in funding business education for the 21st century by helping move business school curriculum beyond traditional ways of thinking to strategies geared more to the new economy. Deming noted, "Approximately 75 percent of Boulder聮s MBAs are entrepreneurship majors, and this is a reflection of the program聮s relevance and the enthusiasm and commitment of center Director Denis Nock."
Professor Steve Lawrence, who said he is "honored and grateful" for having been named the Deming Professor in Entrepreneurship, is at the forefront of such activities. Lawrence teaches the CU-Boulder Business Plan Preparation course, which now boasts a competition offering $45,000 in prize money, the nation聮s second highest award behind MIT.
"Our students are extremely talented," Lawrence said. "They couple innovation with the intricacies of developing a technical business plan." Plans presented last December by engineering and business students included a prepaid Internet purchasing card for teenagers, a multi-player strategy game for entertainment on the Internet and a service to help medical offices schedule, bill and access records.
Bank One, The Integer Group and Cornerstone Equities contributed to the cash awards.
CU-Boulder MBA students recently placed second in the western regional Venture Capital Investment Competition and will compete in the national finals March 23 at the University of North Carolina.
Business involvement is key to the program. "We are located in Boulder -- a leading entrepreneurial center, and clearly one of our program聮s strengths is the working relationship we enjoy with the entrepreneurial community," said Nock.
"Successful entrepreneurs welcome the opportunity to give back and nurture students," Professor Lawrence has found. "Every one of them would tell you that they got a helping hand from someone." At CU聮s Deming Center, entrepreneurs share their wisdom and experience, sponsor mentor and internship opportunities, serve as judges in competitions for business plans and venture capital investments, and personally invest in the program.
Dean Steven Manaster of the College of Business said, "The appointment of the first Deming entrepreneurship professorship is an important turning point for both the College of Business and the Deming Center. The center has established itself among the leading entrepreneurship centers in the world. On behalf of the college, I congratulate Professor Lawrence and offer our most sincere appreciation to Beverly and Robert Deming for such a thoughtful, important and generous gift."
Deming was the founder, chairman and CEO of Toastmaster, Inc., manufacturer of kitchen appliances, before it was acquired by Salton. Deming聮s career involved three decades of strategic leveraged buyouts and acquisitions with turnaround profitability at industrial equipment and consumer appliance companies under his management. He met Beverly Baker in Denver in his early teens. They have been married for 47 years and have four children and seven grandchildren.
Professor Lawrence earned his bachelor聮s and master聮s degrees in engineering from Purdue University and his doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University. At the University of Colorado, Lawrence has been named the Tisone Teaching Scholar and the C. George Van Kempen Entrepreneurship Scholar.