The departments of business and information technology, economics, and engineering management and systems engineering will become the founding departments of the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development, S&T Provost Colin Potts announced in an email to campus today.

“The three founding departments of the Kummer College … all bring distinctive, innovative approaches to education and scholarship, as well as the breadth of academic programs on which to build the college,” Potts wrote, adding that they collectively offer two doctoral degrees, four master’s degrees, including an MBA, five bachelor’s degrees, 22 undergraduate minors and 32 graduate certificates.

“Through the Kummer College, Missouri S&T is radically re-thinking the business school model for the mid-twenty-first century,” Potts wrote. “Unlike a traditional business school, the Kummer College will bring to bear the rich heritage of Missouri S&T to inform what innovation looks like for the future.” The full email is below.

Provost Potts’ email to campus

Dear colleagues,

In less than 11 months since our generous donors Fred and June Kummer made their transformational gift to our university, we are well on our way to creating a new college that honors their name, their entrepreneurial spirit, and their legacy of innovation. Today I’m pleased to share an important update about the Kummer College for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development.

Through the Kummer College, Missouri S&T is radically re-thinking the business school model for the mid-twenty-first century. Unlike a traditional business school, the Kummer College will bring to bear the rich heritage of Missouri S&T to inform what innovation looks like for the future. It will become the nexus for new approaches to scholarship and new educational programs in the relationships between science, technology, and business. Instruction, research, and scholarship will focus on innovation within corporations, entrepreneurial thinking for start-up and small businesses, and technology-related economic development for the state, region and nation.

The three founding departments of the Kummer College – Business and Information Technology, Economics, and Engineering Management and Systems Engineering – all bring distinctive, innovative approaches to education and scholarship, as well as the breadth of academic programs on which to build the college. Collectively, these departments offer two doctoral degrees, four master’s degrees, including an MBA, five bachelor’s degrees, 22 undergraduate minors and 32 graduate certificates.

Drawing on the faculty expertise in these founding departments, and true to Fred and June’s vision, the Kummer College will serve as an incubator for educational innovation and will also offer degree programs and innovative stackable credentials in additional subjects with a focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development.

In addition to our core faculty from the founding departments, faculty from other departments in the College of Engineering and Computing and College of Arts, Sciences, and Business (as it is currently known) will hold adjunct appointments in the Kummer College to further promote the mission of the college. There will be several nuclei for academic interactions and community and professional outreach that will include Arts and Innovation and Business Ethics and Values.

As for what’s next, we are re-initiating our search for the founding dean of the Kummer College with a goal of onboarding this leader next spring or summer. Fittingly for the Kummer College, we are seeking a new kind of leader for a new kind of college – one who brings a creative and innovative mindset, business and tech savvy, and the academic rigor and leadership experience required to build the Kummer College into a premier college of innovation and entrepreneurship. In many ways, we are looking for the same leadership and personality qualities that founders of successful startups embody. After all, the Kummer College is a startup.

I look forward to sharing future updates about the Kummer College as we move forward.

Sincerely,

Colin Potts, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs