Future Oregon entrepreneurs will be better prepared to launch successful businesses in a global marketplace thanks to a $5 million gift to the University of Oregon from Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle and his wife, Mary. The Boyles' gift will help the Lundquist College of Business turn its New Venture Championship (NVC) student business plan competition into the world's first with an Asian focus and take steps to launch what would be Oregon's first comprehensive product design initiative.
The gift includes $3.5 million for the New Venture Championship, which is already one of the top three in the country. The funds will be divided between the Lundquist College of Business, which runs the competition, and the School of Journalism and Communication, whose students market the annual contest. The remaining $1.5 million will go to the School of Architecture and Allied Arts to plan and implement a proposed multidisciplinary program in product design and material studies.
The gift will enable the Lundquist College to realize its goal of attracting at least half the entrants in the New Venture Championship from Asian countries, said Randy Swangard, managing director of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship. This will further the Lundquist College's Engaging China initiative and the university's East Asia initiative.
"The state of Oregon has already said that, from a trade business partnership standpoint, China and other Asian countries will become our dominant trade partners in the future," Swangard said. "What better way to get a sense of these partners than to bring in these student teams from Asia?" The gift will also help increase the total prize money for the annual competition and boost marketing efforts to raise global awareness about the event, Swangard added.
The university started the New Venture Championship in 1992 with three student teams competing for $300 in prizes. An initial gift from the Boyles in 2001 helped boost the prize money and the number of entrants. It also initiated a collaboration between the Lundquist College and the journalism school to market the event.
"Our original gift to support the New Venture Championship was a great investment," said Tim Boyle. "Students gained more insider knowledge about launching successful ventures, more teams affiliated with the college and participating in the competition evolved into successful business ventures, and the competition itself grew in national stature. This new gift is about leveraging that success to expand NVC and promote further awareness of the event by combining the talents in the business college and journalism school."
"We are honored and excited that Tim and Mary have chosen to evolve their investment with us," said Lundquist College of Business Dean James C. Bean. "Their dedication, support, and enthusiasm have a profound impact on the college and the university as we seek to maximize collaborations and better prepare students to be leaders in the global marketplace."