In 2021, Richard (McIntire ’78) and Donna Tadler (Ed ’79) made a generous gift to UVA that laid the groundwork for a pan-University initiative that is gathering fresh momentum.

The commitment that created the Donna and Richard Tadler University Professorship of Entrepreneurship was matched by the University’s Bicentennial Professorship Fund. A University Professorship is a critical step toward providing full support for a distinguished scholar in the field of entrepreneurship and is a key component of a recent University-wide entrepreneurship initiative to advance UVA's 2030 strategic plan and to make it easier for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and investors to navigate the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

In fall 2023, Michael Lenox, also the Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration and former chief strategy officer at the Darden School of Business, became the inaugural recipient of the professorship. Lenox also is special adviser to the provost on entrepreneurship and is coordinating the initiative with President Jim Ryan, Executive Vice President and Provost Ian Baucom, and others.

Now, a year later, the University’s entrepreneurial plan has solidified under an initiative— UVA Innovates—to assist students, faculty, and staff with moving forward with their big ideas.

“The last year was spent listening and ideating on what were the critical unmet needs in our University community,” Lenox said. “We are now bearing the fruit of this work, standing up a suite of exciting new initiatives, including a new clubhouse for student entrepreneurs and innovators called The Foundry; a one-stop shop for support for faculty and graduate researcher founders called the Venture Hub, in partnership with UVA’s Licensing and Venture Group; and a new wet lab biotech accelerator in partnership with CvilleBioHub. All of this is supported by the UVA Innovates platform to help catalyze and coordinate the numerous efforts taking place around Grounds in the various schools and units.”

A Pan-University Boost for Entrepreneurship

The goal is to amplify entrepreneurship activities across UVA. The University will provide resources including developing entrepreneurship leaves for faculty, a fund to help translate technology and physical science research into marketable products, and funding for programming and staff.

“Over the past decade, entrepreneurship and innovation offerings across Grounds have been flourishing,” Lenox said. “For example, offerings have grown to include undergraduate entrepreneurship minors, the UVA Entrepreneurship Cup competition, the Galant Challenge at McIntire, the Batten Institute’s i.Lab Incubator at Darden, and the social entrepreneurship program at the Batten School. On the faculty and researcher front, we created the UVA Seed Fund, new translational research programs, and the iCorps program.”

Lenox aims to strengthen the overall entrepreneurial experience across Grounds that already includes courses, centers, programs, maker spaces, and other efforts. “UVA Innovates is meant to serve as a catalyst to these existing efforts, providing coordination and support, and standing up new offerings to meet unmet needs,” he said. “UVA Innovates will also take a leading role as we think beyond our ecosystem on UVA Grounds, working with local and state entities to help foster innovation and entrepreneurship in Charlottesville, the commonwealth, and beyond.”

Lenox said the University wants to provide more support to students, no matter their level of interest in entrepreneurship, from “dyed-in-the-wool” entrepreneurs eager to start businesses, to those interested in entrepreneurship at some time later in their lives and those who are simply interested in learning about technology and innovation.

“Our world needs more entrepreneurial thinkers to address the critical challenges facing society,” he said. “I think entrepreneurship in this way comes naturally to UVA students. Through entrepreneurial thinking, we are empowering the types of citizen-leaders that have been a hallmark of this University since its founding.”

To come full circle, the University’s robust investment in entrepreneurship reflects the Tadlers’ history of giving. “Much of what matters to donors is the opportunity to work across schools and curriculums,” Richard Tadler said at the time of his gift. “That’s why a University Professorship is so compelling to us. Entrepreneurship is still in the very formative stages in academic circles, and we wanted to focus on something that will be transformative for a university that was so important to both of us. This is a chance to include entrepreneurship as one of 10 very significant academic fields that can be raised to a higher level at UVA. We are honored to help make that happen.”