 | | | | Preparations in Progress for Unique Residential Living and Learning Experience 
As the renovation of Weatherford Hall continues, the plans for student activity, residential culture, and informal curriculum are almost complete. New Director of the Austin Entrepreneur Program Jon Down, Executive Director Mark Green, and Entrepreneurship Professor Justin Craig, along with Housing personnel and alumni, have created a plan for a residential community like none other in the country.
“The informal curriculum will enable entrepreneur-minded students to complement their university course load with first-hand experiences,” says Jon Down. “This includes knowledge gained from discussions with guest speakers, mentor relationships, business plan competitions, and ’elevator pitch‘ sessions.”
In order to ensure that all Weatherford residents reach their potential in the entrepreneurial living community, students will be classified based on participation and interest. Students who have some entrepreneurial interest but are in the early stages of their education will be known as “affiliates.” After taking the Introduction to Entrepreneurship course, students advance to the “associates” level. They will have a better understanding of the entrepreneurial world and will have more interest and deeper involvement in the informal curriculum. To achieve the highest “academy” level, and to accrue additional AEP perks, residents will be reviewed by an advisory board that includes alumni and the Deans of the Colleges of Business and Engineering. These students will have contributed to the well-being of Weatherford; they will have exceptional privileges including choice of a tower room, access to seed funding, and extra meeting privileges with special VIPs.
The informal curriculum and residential affiliations were developed after a visit this winter to a residential community at the University of Maryland by Mark Green; Dan Larson, University Housing and Dining; and Debbie Johnson, College of Engineering. The Maryland facility is a smaller residential entrepreneurship hall that is developed and maintained by the School of Engineering.
“We spent a lot of time with the students in the program and learned that the more intimate we made our program, the better,” said Green. “The key is creating a structure to manage by and then allow the students to run with it. Involvement and success ultimately depends on them.” |
