Universities face many challenges with decreased federal and
state funding and increased expectations from graduating
students. Some universities attempt to solve these challenges by
earning revenue in an entrepreneurial fashion. An entrepreneur
is a person who creates something and accepts responsibility for
the risks associated with this venture to get the rewards. Some
colleges focus on getting potential entrepreneurs to succeed
with their businesses after they graduate. Others earn revenue
when existing faculty make great discoveries that earn the
institution royalties. One example of this second concept is the
development and success of the drink Gatorade. A researcher in a
lab at the University of Florida in the 1960’s used the football
team as his research subjects and discovered that his
electrolyte beverage was a great success. The university
received licensing royalties of hundreds of millions of dollars
because it retained its rights to the product. What Are
Entrepreneurial Universities? Universiti