The UEDA Talent Network hosted Kate Harmon, Assistant Vice President of the Office of Entrepreneurship at the University of Cincinnati! She presented on how she develops, attracts and grows talent at the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Entrepreneurship founded in 1997, which provides co-curricular, experiential learning experiences and resources for students looking to develop their entrepreneurial mindset and build a venture. The center oversees the university’s commercialization arm (Venture Lab) which supports students, faculty/staff, alumni and community members working on scalable, technology-based ventures through accelerators, mentorship and funding.
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In this engaging session, the University of Cincinnati’s Center for Entrepreneurship shared how it has built a high-impact, student-powered model to drive innovation and talent development. With a small core team of four staff members—plus a part-time employee and ten undergraduate student staff—the Center has strategically leveraged student talent to lead and support initiatives such as Bearcat Ventures and the Venture Research Studio. Emphasizing mentorship, many of the student team members are entrepreneurs themselves, helping to build peer-led, co-curricular experiences.
The Center, located within the state-designated Cincinnati Innovation District and the 1819 Innovation Hub, benefits from the region’s strengths in cybersecurity, aerospace, and life sciences, as well as its proximity to a major logistics network via the local airport. During the webinar, a live poll revealed that most attendees recruit students through email lists, faculty referrals, and clubs, offering competitive wages and exclusive experiences as incentives. UC’s emphasis on co-created frameworks empowers students to take ownership and grow initiatives, earning $12–15/hour for 5–15 hours per week. Four years in, this grassroots model continues to thrive, demonstrating the powerful role student staff can play in scaling university innovation efforts.
Get to know the speaker
Kate Harmon is the Assistant Vice President for the Office of Innovation (Venture Lab) and the Executive Director and the El and Elaine Bourgraf Director of Entrepreneurial Practice for the Center for Entrepreneurship where she spurs cross-campus and community entrepreneurial engagement for a 50,000+ student and faculty population and dynamic alumni community.
Harmon brings 20+ years of experience in higher education as both a faculty member and administrator building sustainable systems and infrastructure to support student learning and professional development. For the last 13 years, she has developed impactful entrepreneurship curricula and programming and worked to build inclusive startup communities for college students, faculty/staff, alumni and the general public. She has mentored 1000’s of clients who have gone on to build sustainable ventures in the technology, proptech, consumer product, logistics, food, retail and nonprofit spaces and who have gone on to raise millions in venture funding and creating hundreds of jobs. As a former small business and nonprofit founder, she brings a practitioners’ background to the classroom and has taught entrepreneurship classes ranging from introduction to entrepreneurship to Lean Launchpad and corporate intrapreneurship. A highly collaborative leader, Harmon fosters the development of ‘founders first’ entrepreneurial ecosystems prioritizing Brad Feld’s theory that founders are best equipped to build and lead successful ecosystems.
Prior to the University of Cincinnati, Harmon helped build the entrepreneurial ecosystems at the University of Oregon (Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship) and Kent State University (Blackstone Launchpad powered by Techstars). She also brings prior experience working in philanthropy and has worked with regional and national foundations focused on entrepreneurship and economic development.
Kate Harmon is a trained art historian who has taught art history at the University of Akron, Youngstown State University, Ohio University, and Grand Rapids Community College. As a liberal arts graduate and self-trained entrepreneur, she makes the case daily that entrepreneurship can be taught and learned by anyone regardless of their background or focus of study.