West Virginia has received some of the best economic news in years. No, it was not that a big company is opening a plant in our state or that Washington is moving a major division of the federal government here.
The news instead was about incredibly generous financial gifts to the business schools at West Virginia University and Marshall University.
The WVU gift comes from alum John Chambers, chairman emeritus of the global technology giant Cisco Systems. Chambers does not want the University to disclose the amount, but it’s large enough that the University is naming its College of Business and Economics after him.
“I’m betting on the Mountaineers and I believe my home state can become a start-up state if the university, business and public sectors come together to support transformative innovation,” Chambers said.
The Chambers gift focuses on developing entrepreneurial skills and funding startups with venture capital. Chambers, who is now a venture capitalist and business coach, will spend some of his time at WVU mentoring future business leaders on startups and retail franchise opportunities.
Marshall announced that alum Brad Smith and his wife Alys are giving $25 million to the campus’s Lewis College of Business. Smith is the chairman and CEO of the financial software giant Intuit.
“Alys and I are passionate about education and economic empowerment in West Virginia, Ohio and the surrounding Appalachia area,” Smith said. The money will help Marshall rework its business curriculum and build new facilities. Students will focus on collaboration, creativity and entrepreneurship.
These charitable donations from West Virginians who have never forgotten their roots have the potential to give the Mountain State what is has long desired—economic diversity. Energy remains the principle economic engine of the state, but we need a more broad based economy to achieve greater economic stability and growth, while creating new opportunities to entice young West Virginians to stay home and to lure others to move here.
These opportunities will come not from the top down, but rather from the bottom up, from smart, hard-working individuals who have the desire to create something new or improve upon an existing product or service. Unfortunately, West Virginia has not been a place known for start-ups.
A report by the Kauffman Foundation ranked West Virginia 23rd out of the 25 smaller states in entrepreneurship. One big problem is available capital. Kauffman reports that in 2016, 78 percent of venture capital went to just three states—New York, Massachusetts and California. Less than one percent went to rural areas. John Chambers’ start-up money at WVU will be a big help.
Ewing Kauffman, the founder of the Kauffman Foundation, said, “It’s your right to be uncommon if you can. You seek opportunity to compete. You desire to take the calculated risk, to dream, to build, yes, even to fail, and to succeed.”
Thanks to the gifts from John Chambers and Brad and Alys Smith, the business schools at West Virginia University and Marshall University are in a unique position to help people achieve their dreams and, in the process, create a more diverse, dynamic economy in West Virginia.