Schryver to lead entrepreneurship institute at Johnson

Tom Schryver, MBA ’02, has been appointed to lead the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute (EII) at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Soumitra Dutta, the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean, announced Aug. 13. Schryver also will continue to lead the Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA).

Tom Schryver
Schryver

“With this appointment, academic theory, practice and learning will become more closely aligned in EII,” Dutta said. “Tom’s joint leadership role will help Cornell students bring the entrepreneurship and innovation skills they gain in EII to the ventures created through CREA, expanding Cornell’s impact on the local area and strengthening New York’s upstate economy.”

The institute’s mission is to foster the critical components of entrepreneurship and innovation: knowledge, networking and opportunity. Through the EII, new business concepts are explored; industry and academia engage; students and alumni across disciplines collaborate; technology commercialization is facilitated; and startups emerge. CREA was formed in 2014 to spearhead economic development efforts in upstate New York, with a specific focus on supporting job creation via new companies and advancing economic development programs.

An Ithaca native and successful entrepreneur himself, Schryver said his appointment is “a fantastic opportunity” to bring CREA and EII together. “Through CREA, we can give entrepreneurial students the platform to make a real impact,” Schryver said. “I’m very grateful for this opportunity to promote forward-looking business ideas in the local economy.”

Under Schryver’s leadership, CREA launched a new business incubator, Rev: Ithaca Startup Works, in partnership with Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College, which now has 28 member companies. Rev recently received a $50,000 boost from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s second annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition for launching a program that supports and mentors women entrepreneurs in Ithaca and Tompkins County with the goal of expanding the regional network of women in business.

CREA also has partnered with Binghamton University and Corning Inc. in forming a regional coalition, the Southern Tier Startup Alliance. The coalition provides business incubation services around the Southern Tier and was bolstered by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration earlier this year. In addition, CREA is part of the START-UP NY initiative, which provides tax incentives to new and expanding companies that commit to grow jobs on or near eligible university or college campuses in New York state.

At Johnson, Schryver will partner with Steve Gal, an EII founder who chairs the Entrepreneurship@Cornell advisory council; Johnson faculty members Jason Hogg, Ken Rother and Brad Treat; and Andrea Sherwood, EII and Emerging Markets Institute coordinator. The team will advise and support about 80 EII fellows as they complete entrepreneurial courses and projects; organize entrepreneurial events; and develop and execute a long-term plan to establish Johnson as a global thought leader in entrepreneurship theory and practice.

EII also will become the lead organization for Johnson’s involvement with eHub, the student business co-working space scheduled to launch in Kennedy Hall and in Collegetown in spring 2016.

According to Dutta, this structure solidifies the relationship between EII and eLab, Cornell’s student business accelerator, and with Big Red Ventures, Johnson’s venture capital fund run by MBA students.

Media Contact

John Carberry