Inside Iowa State
Sept. 20, 1996
Gift funds entrepreneurship center
by Michelle Johnson
A $1 million gift from Des Moines businessman and
entrepreneur John Pappajohn will fund a new entrepre-neurship
center at Iowa State.
The center will enable entrepreneurs to test new technologies and eventually market them commercially through new companies or the expansion of existing companies. The center will focus on technologies developed by faculty and students in the colleges of Engineering, Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, but will serve as a statewide resource for entrepreneurs.
The center also will provide educational courses, programs and outreach services to develop the entrepreneurial interests of Iowa State students and faculty, and other Iowans.
Pappajohn is funding similar centers at the University of Northern Iowa, Drake University and North Iowa Community College.
The center will work closely with all ISUs colleges, as well as many of its centers, including the Small Business Development Center, Center for Advanced Technology Development, Center for Industrial Research and Service, Center for Animal Health and the Utilization Center for Agricultural Products. The College of Business will oversee the center.
Pappajohn also donated $50,000 to support the most promising start-up companies created through the center.
Pappajohn is the founder of Guardsman Life Insurance Company, Des Moines. He is currently the president of Equity Dynamics Inc. and the sole owner of Pappajohn Capital Resources, a capital firm that specializes in health care, medical and other technical industries.
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