Skip to main content

UW–Madison launching new hub to accelerate entrepreneurship

July 28, 2025
An aerial photograph taken by drone shows the Cole Beach and Lakeshore Tennis Courts and the Lakeshore neighborhood with the Capitol and the campus skyline in the horizon on a partly cloudy summer day.

The Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub embraces the many facets of innovation taking place across campus. Chancellor Mnookin notes that it “will serve as a catalyst, bringing together the university’s strengths in research, education, and community engagement to create a more impactful entrepreneurial future.” Photo: Taylor Wolfram

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is executing its campus entrepreneurship plan with the formation of a new entity, the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub. The Hub, aimed at strengthening entrepreneurial pathways, was approved by campus governance in May, and a search for its first executive director is underway.

In October 2024, the university released a report commissioned by Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin that outlines a new strategy to boost entrepreneurship at UW–Madison. The report was developed by a working group that engaged more than 200 stakeholders within and outside the university. It lays out an initiative that builds on UW–Madison’s rich history of innovation to further empower the university’s founders — UW–Madison students, faculty, and staff — to help them transform their ideas into real-world impact. Mnookin appointed Jon Eckhardt as special adviser for the “founder-first” entrepreneurial initiative to help move the effort forward.

“UW–Madison has a long legacy of innovation and entrepreneurship, from the discovery and patenting of the blood thinner warfarin to today’s spinoff companies pioneering modern solutions, such as fusion energy. We have an opportunity to make this legacy even stronger,” says Mnookin. “The university is a home for founders, the people who drive entrepreneurship, and by providing them with the right support and infrastructure, we can create even greater economic growth throughout the state.”

The Hub is part of the university’s overall strategy to become a leading destination for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. The initiative is based on the notion that entrepreneurship is a creative act that improves society through economic impact, embodying the Wisconsin Idea. The Hub will execute the strategy by coordinating and developing new entrepreneurship resources and programs.

“By implementing a founder-focused approach, we can more fully embrace all forms of entrepreneurship that occur on our campus and in our economy and provide entrepreneurs with the support and infrastructure they need to strengthen the state’s economy and improve the world,” says Eckhardt.

Eckhardt, a Discovery Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and a professor at the Wisconsin School of Business, served as the co-chair of the working group that developed the report. He has also worked with campus leaders, faculty, governance groups, and supporting institutions —including the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) — to develop a structure for the Hub that acknowledges that entrepreneurship is associated with all of the university’s schools and colleges.

To that end, the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub will work with UW–Madison leaders, faculty, staff, partner organizations and the business community to focus on three main objectives:

  • Recruit entrepreneurial individuals
  • Develop entrepreneurial talent
  • Launch impactful entrepreneurial careers and enterprises

“This is a pivotal moment for UW–Madison and the state of Wisconsin,” says Mnookin. “The Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub will serve as a catalyst, bringing together the university’s strengths in research, education, and community engagement to create a more impactful entrepreneurial future.”

The search is underway for a dynamic and visionary executive to lead the Hub and build a premier entrepreneurship ecosystem at the university. Eckhardt will chair the search committee, which comprises entrepreneurial students, faculty, staff and UW–Madison affiliates. The committee includes:

  • Arash Bashirullah, professor and associate dean, executive director of the Lachman Institute for Pharmaceutical Development, School of Pharmacy
  • Guelay Bilen-Rosas, professor, School of Medicine and Public Health, and founder of AyrFlo
  • Sanket Deshpande, PhD student, College of Engineering, and co-founder of Dirac Labs
  • Kevin Eliceiri, professor, School of Medicine and Public Health, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, co-founder of OnLume and scientific advisor to Elephas and Linectra
  • Mohit Gupta, professor of Computer Sciences, School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, and Ubicept co-founder
  • Erik Iverson, chief executive officer, WARF
  • Greg Keenan, partner, WARF Ventures (WARF representative alternate)
  • Jack Koziol, Infosec founder and UW–Madison entrepreneur-in-residence
  • Rachel Lionberg, senior vice president, WFAA
  • Bill Murphy, professor, College of Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and entrepreneur
  • Tina Nielsen, associate dean for innovation and strategy, College of Letters & Sciences
  • Tami Patel, interim director, Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic, UW Law School
  • Vatsan Raman, professor of College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Department of Biochemistry, and entrepreneur
  • Vallabh Sambamurthy, dean, Wisconsin School of Business
  • Paul Shain, outgoing WFAA board chair and Singlewire Software founder