Index of University Press Releases

Feb. 6, 2008

Internationally Renowned Speakers
to Present at Launch ’08 Conference

MITCHELL – The South Dakota Entrepreneurship Education Conference: Launch ’08 will be on Thursday, Feb. 28 at Dakota Wesleyan University. Launch ’08 is a one-day event advancing entrepreneurship education in South Dakota. This year’s conference features internationally renowned speakers Ed Sobey, Kathleen R. Allen and Timothy M. Stearns.

Sobey, the keynote speaker, will speak on creativity and why innovation and creativity are important in the classroom. He has directed five museums, published more than a dozen books, developed hands-on inventing activities to help kids learn science and traveled around the world. He holds a Ph.D. in oceanography and has participated in scientific expeditions throughout the Pacific Ocean. Sobey is the founding director of the Northwest Invention Center, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the National Toy Hall of Fame. He also produced and hosted the popular inventing show, “The Idea Factory,” for KFSN-ABC and cocreated the internationally known Kids Invent! program that has been recognized with a Congressional Award for Inventing Equitable Futures.

Allen is also a featured speaker and will be presenting two sessions, "The Art of Starting" and "Integrating Entrepreneurship into Your Curriculum: How Do You Do It?" Allen is the author of several books on entrepreneurship including “Bringing New Technology to Market,” “Launching New Ventures” and “Growing and Managing a Small Business.” As an entrepreneur, Allen was involved in commercial real estate development for 10 years, owned two successful businesses, and more recently cofounded two high technology ventures, one of which has been sold. Allen is also a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California and serves as the director of the USC Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization. She is the cofounder and president of the National Network for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Institute (N2TEC). Allen also sits on the board of directors of a medical technology venture, an independent publishing house and a NYSE company.

Stearns, a leading professor, researcher and consultant in entrepreneurial studies, is the third featured speaker. Stearns is the holder of the Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies and is the executive director of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University, Fresno. He has taught and lectured on entrepreneurship and innovation in Thailand, Poland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Macau and the People’s Republic of China. Stearns is currently the chair of the entrepreneurship division of the Academy of Management and serves on the executive committee of the N2TEC Institute. He also cocreated the internationally known Kids Invent! program.

The Launch ’08 conference is presented in partnership by the Enterprise Institute, the Kelley Center for Entrepreneurship/Dakota Wesleyan University, South Dakota State University Entrepreneurship Program, EQUIP, South Dakota EPSCoR, South Dakota Small Business Development Center, and the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

For registration information for Launch ’08, visit www.dwu.edu/sdlaunchconference, call 605-996-1140, or 800-487-1740. A special program is available through South Dakota EPSCoR which offers $1,000 faculty stipends and/or faculty and student conference registration. This activity is supported by the National Science Foundation and by the state of South Dakota. For more information about South Dakota EPSCoR and this opportunity, visit www.sdepscor.org.