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U News 1 | Clemson University imposes hiring freeze and travel ban
Auburn University has recently expanded its Rocket City research footprint.
From Clemson University:
The Greenville edition of The (Charleston) Post and Courier reports that Clemson University has issued a hiring freeze and travel ban, citing economic uncertainties. The pause comes as the school further tightens its fiscal belt after issuing a “mission critical” mandate two months ago amid a nearly $2 billion capital campaign.
The new finance guidelines were issued March 25, stating new hiring and personnel actions are paused for 30 days and non-essential travel and supply purchases are on hold for 60 days. The supply portion includes hospitality expenses for internal meetings, though student-focused events can take place with a budget approved by the dean. An update to the spending limits will be provided by June 18 “or earlier if needed,” according to Clemson’s website.
University spokesman Joe Galbraith cited federal priorities that are shifting and looking ahead to changes in economic conditions.
From Auburn University:
Auburn University’s recently expanded Rocket City research footprint is already going up a size.
In November 2024, the university’s Board of Trustees approved the expansion of the Auburn University Research and Innovation Campus with plans for a new facility in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park intended to accommodate new partnerships between the Auburn University Applied Research Institute (AUARI) and the Department of Defense.
“We knew we would be growing quickly,” said Steve Taylor, Auburn’s Senior Vice President for Research and Economic Development. “It’s nice to see that the vision and strategy we’re taking in Huntsville is already paying dividends.”
The 50,000-square-foot building will include flexible laboratory space and office space. It will also accommodate the operation of a Big Area Additive Manufacturing printer in the integration of mission command capabilities into projects such as upfitting the Polaris MRZR Alpha 4 Ultra Light Tactical Vehicle. But the main feature will be a 30,000-square-foot high bay laboratory allowing for the critical radiation hardening testing that ensures the resilience of electronics in the harsh radiation environments encountered in space.
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
From Harvard University:
The Harvard Undergraduate Venture Capital Group (VCG) held its third annual Entrepreneurship Summit last Saturday in Boston. The Summit is the largest undergraduate entrepreneurship and venture capital conference in the nation and brought together founders of unicorn start-ups, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of publicly traded companies, and renowned venture capital and private equity investors.
Keynote speakers included:
- Steve Kaufer, Co-Founder and former CEO of TripAdvisor and a Board Member of CarGurus and DirectBooker.
- Dr. Joel Myers, Founder and Chairman of Accuweather.
- Rob Hale, Co-Founder and President of Granite Telecommunications as well as Founder of Copley Equity Partners and part-owner of the Boston Celtics.
- Ed Baker, Chief Product Officer of Whoop. Founder of AnyQuestion (acquired by Whoop) and previously at Facebook and Uber.
From the University of Chicago:
The new Polsky Commercialization Fellowship offers Ph.D. students at the University of Chicago the opportunity to create new ventures around promising research and develop leadership skills during a competitive fellowship.
“We created this new fellowship to give PhD students the opportunity to dedicate focused time to exploring entrepreneurship. With the support of their faculty advisors, these students are working toward bringing some of the University’s most promising research from the lab to the world,” said Samir Mayekar, Associate Vice President and Managing Director of the Polsky Center.
The structured, milestone-driven program supports students in translating their research into real-world impact through a comprehensive 11-month experience. It is designed to teach Ph.D. students how to apply and commercialize their research, while giving them and their faculty advisors access to targeted venture creation resources and networking opportunities through the Polsky Center.
“The inaugural cohort of fellows has embraced the entrepreneurial process throughout the program. They’ve started to think about their science in a new way and are open and eager to learn from one another and the different experts they’ve worked with,” said Ellen Zatkowski, Director of Science Programs and Student Engagement. “The Polsky team will continue to support the students and their new ventures as they move their ideas forward, and we are excited to continue growing this fellowship.”
From Arizona State University:
In a groundbreaking initiative aimed at empowering college athletes beyond their playing careers, Arizona State University (ASU) and GoDaddy have teamed up to launch the first-of-its-kind Student Athlete Venture Studio. The program helps student-athletes navigate the rapidly changing landscape of name, image, and likeness licensing by providing them with the tools, mentorship, and resources to develop, launch, and grow business ventures.
Initiated and designed by the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute at ASU, GoDaddy, and Sun Devil Athletics, this collaboration combines ASU’s entrepreneurial resources with GoDaddy’s digital expertise to help student-athletes build their brands.
“The Student Athlete Venture Studio enables collegiate athletes to become entrepreneurs and provides a proactive approach to navigating NIL successfully,” said Jeff Kunowski, Associate Director of Innovation Programs at Edson E+I Institute. “By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across ASU and leveraging sport as a platform, we are helping athletes develop ventures and lifelong skills to help them excel beyond their careers as college athletes.”
Athletes in the program will pitch their venture ideas for seed funding during a Demo Day each academic year.
