Hartford Business Journal

20 Hartford Business Journal • September 2, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Sean Teehan steehan@hartfordbusiness.com I n August, UConn's board of trust- ees held its first meeting attended by new University of Connecticut President Thomas Katsouleas. Much of the meeting consisted of housekeeping issues like review- ing the university's ethics policy, but at least one agenda item was right up Katsouleas' ally: the formation of an entrepreneurship advisory committee. The former University of Virginia executive vice president and provost took UConn's corner office with the support of Gov. Ned Lamont and the understanding that as president he would pump up the school's research funding and entrepreneurship pro- grams. If Katsouleas has his way, his tenure will put UConn on a path to becoming a higher-education mecca for innovators looking to advance research, make discoveries and com- mercialize those inventions. "We'd like to build this out so that if someone's interested in entrepreneur- ship, they have a curricular path forward to pursue entrepreneurship and have … experiential learning," Katsouleas said in an interview after the Aug. 14 board meeting, adding that if graduate students making discoveries in labs had access to support in monetizing them, UConn would be "leapfrogging our peers, and bringing an advantage to our students at UConn." In some ways, UConn is in a prime po- sition to become an East Coast answer to the Silicon Valley-adjacent Stanford University, and to give its northern neighbor MIT a run for its money when it comes to midwifing new, innovative companies born on campus. The school already has some signifi- cant research-and-development in- frastructure and the state legislature is also on-board, having passed a law earlier this year requiring the univer- sity to expand entrepreneurship. But the plan has a major hurdle with no clear solution: A multibillion-dollar unfunded pension liability that makes UConn a more expensive place for entrepreneurs to base their operations compared to other research univer- sities. This year, the pension liabil- ity amounts to $52 million between UConn and UConn Health, but that number fluctuates annually based on retirements, retiree deaths and other liabilities that the pension system must fund, a UConn spokeswoman said. Time will tell exactly how much of an impediment the pension liability will be to Katsouleas' vision. But for now, the new president, fac- ulty handling entrepreneurship pro- grams and startup staffers working out of UConn incubators seem intent on building up the school's current research and startup resources, while hoping the pension liability situation is solved. Somehow. UConn's nationwide standing Katsouleas' objective is to double annu- al research funding in the next 10 years from about $265 million to $500 million. UConn Vice President of Research Radenka Maric said that will translate into more innovation and entrepre- neurial activities, because once research dollars increase so does innovation. There is data to back that up. Schools expect one patent issued per $2 million in research funding. Universities have always been major sources of science and technology in- novation, but there has been increasing pressure to turn ideas into practical uses that create new businesses and jobs. "Silicon Valley" and the "North Caro- lina Triangle" have become model ex- amples. In Connecticut, Yale University and its Science Park is the benchmark. UConn has raised its profile over the last few decades as a research institu- tion, spending billions of dollars to boost its R&D infrastructure, including adding new lab space and technology buildings, and expanding its engineering depart- ment and enrollment as well as entre- preneurial education for undergrads. That's translated into more research dollars and economic activity. In 2017, UConn reported $184 mil- lion in total research expenditures, which was up 28 percent from a decade earlier, according to a recent survey by the Association of Univer- sity Technology Managers (AUTM). In 2017, the school also generated 46 patents, 45 new patent applications and three new startups, the AUTM survey found. The school also averages about 87 active licenses annually. However, UConn is still far behind much larger research schools. For ex- ample, Stanford had over $1 billion in research expenditures in 2017 and $45 million in license revenue, while MIT recorded $1.7 billion in research ex- penditures and $33 million in license revenue that year. Katsouleas is currently fleshing out a number of specific proposals to propel UConn's entrepreneurship programs, but he's not yet ready to reveal them publicly, a spokeswoman said. Maric, who supports Katsouleas' vi- sion, said she thinks the school should increase its focus on building alumni networks, develop a faculty "commer- cialization orientation" and evaluate every faculty research discovery for startup potential. Tech and entrepreneurship Among UConn's latest efforts to boost its research profile was the estab- lishment of the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. If was formed after Peter J. Werth, a philanthropist and founder of generic drug company ChemWerth Inc., donat- ed $22.5 million two years ago to the UConn Foundation, the university's philanthropic arm, to pay for innova- tion and entrepreneurial programs. "We're about creating entrepreneurs and giving students opportunities to learn and experience things that will help them become a better entrepreneur some day," said David Noble, the institute's director. "We focus more on creating entrepreneurs than creating companies." BY THE NUMBERS UConn R&D $184M UConn's total research expendi- tures in 2017. 4 Total licenses obtained by UConn staff in 2017. $1.5 million Total license revenue earned by UConn in 2017. 3 The number of UConn startups formed in 2017. Source: Association of University Technology Managers 2017 Licensing Activity Survey Startup Destination UConn president's ambitious goal to boost entrepreneurship, double research funding faces hurdles UConn President Thomas Katsouleas addresses the university's board of trustees at an August meeting. HBJ PHOTO | SEAN TEEHAN

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