CLA Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The university serves as the catalyst for transforming knowledge to service in society and the economy. The origins of this process stem from extending the study of Liberals Arts to practical subjects such as agriculture, architecture, military science, engineering, and science. In Europe, this legacy began with the creation of the natural sciences during the renaissance. In the U.S., social class mobility after the industrial revolution ignited the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 to establish land grant colleges with a focus on industrial and agricultural experimentation. More recently, the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act ushered in the life science and information technology revolution by allowing university, small business, and non-profit ownership of innovation from federally funded research. These transformations have resulted in a spectacular expansion of the university as the cornerstone of the new knowledge society. In this proposal we make the argument for building on this rich heritage of including the Liberal Arts in knowledge production in service to society and the economy through a campus-wide effort to unite research, teaching, and practice of innovation and entrepreneurship.