Laura Dunham, an entrepreneur-turned-professor, has been named dean of the Opus College or university of Organization at the University of St. Thomas, the second-major business enterprise faculty in Minnesota.
Dunham for the final five years has been associate dean in demand of the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship within the business college. She succeeds Stefanie Lenway, who led the Opus University of Business since 2014.
“The Opus College or university requirements an entrepreneurial chief, who will carry on to construct a culture of innovation in all corners of the higher education,” Lenway mentioned in a assertion. “Laura is this entrepreneurial chief with deep experience making plans in the Schulze College that have obtained nationwide recognition.”
With Dunham at the helm, the Schulze Faculty grew just about three moments in sizing as calculated by the quantity of majoring learners and all round credit score several hours taught. Entrepreneurship is now the fifth-major main at the College of St. Thomas.
In that time, the Schulze University went from unranked to No. 23 on the Princeton Review’s checklist of undergraduate entrepreneurship plans. Dunham aims for St. Thomas to be among the the leading-rated Catholic organization faculties.
“We have a certainly great school and team who are dedicated to educating our students and supporting our local community,” Dunham said in an job interview. “What’s good about the rankings is that they enable people know about our work.”
Dunham joined St. Thomas 19 several years in the past after co-founding a studio theater as a younger grownup. She served produce interdisciplinary experiences at the St. Paul-primarily based college, which include a workshop for first-yr pupils that matches, for occasion, engineering students with finance majors on jobs.
Dunham worked with some of the university’s top benefactors, together with Most effective Purchase founder Dick Schulze and Liquid Investments CEO Ron Fowler, to make 4 enterprise competitions that reward college students with scholarships and seed cash.
A lot more just lately, she served the Schulze University acquire interactions with the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce, the Latino Financial Improvement Center and other individuals to generate a lot more prospects for future college students and company leaders of coloration in Minnesota. As a consequence, Opus Higher education started to entice a a lot more assorted pool of candidates to scholarship packages and raise college diversity.
“We are really dedicated to building an environment that appeals to a additional diverse set of college students,” Dunham reported. She observed that the Twin Metropolitan areas region, like a great deal of the place, faces a shortage of expertise and a populace that is significantly various.
“We will need to make guaranteed all people is having accessibility to academic prospects,” she said. “It really is a moral imperative and an financial essential.”
Lenway will continue being at the Opus College, turning out to be a faculty fellow in its Business in a Digital Entire world initiative.