Set amid icons of Colorado Springs history, three UCCS faculty members who serve as El Pomar chairs delivered a community update on their activities Sept. 2.
Speaking at the Penrose House Conference Center, the former home of El Pomar Foundation founders and early Colorado Springs leaders Spencer and Julie Penrose, Terry Boult, Tom Duening and Michael Larson delivered to-the-point updates on their activities as leaders of El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization.
Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak set the tone for the event by reminding the estimated 75 business and community leaders in attendance of the power of cooperation and investment.
“We celebrate our El Pomar chairs and the beginning of a UCCS-El Pomar Foundation partnership,” Shockley-Zalabak said. “This event is a reminder that it takes all of us – community leaders, government, institutions of higher education, the K-12 school systems – to create success.”
She recited the now more than 50-year-old pledge of Hewlett-Packard Corp. founder David Packard to come to Colorado Springs if there was a University of Colorado campus to support the growing technology company founded in a garage by two Stanford University classmates.
“The University of Colorado Colorado Springs was founded with community and business support,” Shockley-Zalabak said. “It remains part of our DNA.”
Theo Gregory, senior vice president, El Pomar Foundation, recounted El Pomar’s $3.1 million 1990 grant that led to EPIIC. Since 1942, El Pomar has provided 99 grants worth $12 million to CU with almost all funds directed to UCCS.
Terry Boult, El Pomar Endowed Chair of Innovation and Security, told of his collaborative work with other UCCS faculty members to connect technology to well-being, the growth of the Bachelor of Innovation program, and joint plans by all three EPIIC chairs to build an “E-Zone” lab to support students with entrepreneurial ventures.
This year, the Bachelor of Innovation program enrolled 264 majors, Boult said, a pace of more than 50 percent annually since its start in 2007. About 20 local companies will work cooperatively with the students this year.
Tom Duening, El Pomar Endowed Chair of Business and Entrepreneurship, told of events such as the Lion’s Den, a local version of the television show “Shark Tank” designed to get young people excited about developing new products and a Sept. 24 Ignite event where 10 speakers get five minutes each to share their ideas about invigorating Colorado Springs. He will also soon begin a blog for Forbes Magazine.
But the usually-direct Duening was philosophical with the audience, sharing his challenge in working with local students.
“How do we get our students to see themselves as entrepreneurs before we give them the tools and techniques?” Duening asked. “That’s the biggest challenge we face. Colorado Springs students don’t see themselves as having this ability. That must change.”
Michael Larson, El Pomar Endowed Chair of Engineering and Innovation, spoke of his efforts with students in K-12, including a recent trip to Salida where he met with elementary through high school students to demonstrate three dimensional printing. He also shared efforts to create a Colorado-based company that uses laser technology developed at UCCS to fuse biological tissue. The company has eight employees.
— Photos by Tom Kimmell
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