UT, Knoxville’s Anderson Center announces 19 Fellows in two cohorts
Eight are designated as Research Fellows, while 11 are Teaching Fellows. Collectively, they represent seven colleges and the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute.
Nineteen individuals have been selected as either Research Fellows or Teaching Fellows for the 2024-25 academic year by the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI) in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) Haslam College of Business.
Both the outgoing class of inaugural Research Fellows and the new cohort of both groups were honored at an event Wednesday evening with ACEI Executive Director Breanna Hale welcoming attendees and thanking those who were rolling off the Research Fellows group before turning the program over to ACEI’s two individuals overseeing the Fellows.
The ACEI Fellows Program seeks to create a community of UTK faculty members conducting academic research or teaching on the subjects of entrepreneurship and/or innovation from a business development perspective. Launched in 2023 with an inaugural cohort of seven ACEI Research Fellows, the program was expanded for the upcoming academic year to also include those across the university who teach entrepreneurship.
Leading the two programs are Melissa Cardon, ACEI Research Director, and Shawn Carson, ACEI Academic Director.
The selection of the Research Fellows was highly competitive, with numerous applications from across the university. “I am delighted that the incoming group includes faculty members from several colleges,” Cardon said. “Together we will build on the work of the previous ACEI Research Fellows to continue collaborating and developing new ideas across the university for how we can best showcase and support academic research that helps practicing entrepreneurs and innovators address the challenges they face with their firms or careers.”
She also noted that the Research Fellows held two “Bridging Research and Practice” sessions, awarded three grants to researchers, and were “building this plane while we flew it” with the inaugural cohort.
During the Wednesday evening event, Carson noted that he was a fan of Jim Collins, Author of management books Good to Great and Built to Last and his concept of a BHAG (big, harry, audacious goal).
“We have a big, audacious goal of giving every student at UT an encounter with entrepreneurship while they are here,” Carson said. “The ACEI Teaching Fellows will build the foundation of how we accomplish that. I am excited to work with this interdisciplinary team and I can’t wait to see what happens.”
The 2024-2025 ACEI Research Fellows cohort includes:
- Stuart Brotman, College of Communication and Information;
- Celeste Carruthers, Haslam College of Business;
- Joan Heminway, College of Law and Institute for Professional Leadership (continuing);
- Jessica Jones, Haslam College of Business (continuing);
- Aaron Staples, UT Institute of Agriculture;
- Tomer Stein, College of Law;
- Maurice Stucke, College of Law; and
- Zihan Ye, Haslam College of Business.
The 2024-2025 ACEI Teaching Fellows cohort includes:
- Edwin Armbrister, Haslam College of Business;
- Dustin Gilmer, UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute;
- Susan Hébert, College of Nursing;
- Bill Hicks, Tickle College of Engineering;
- Kurt Jacobs, Haslam College of Business;
- Brian Krumm, College of Law;
- Myra Loveday, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences and Rocky Top Institute;
- Haseeb Qureshi, Haslam College of Business;
- Ryan Sharp, UT Institute of Agriculture;
- Dave Williams, Haslam College of Business; and
- Fatima Zahra, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences.
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