A significant gift is enhancing the entrepreneurship ecosystem at the Lundquist College of Business and the University of Oregon.

Alumnus and UO Foundation Trustee from 1989-99, David B. Stern, recently established the Iconoclast Fund for the Oregon Innovation Challenge to support stipends to students pursuing promising entrepreneurial ideas or active ventures.

“Encouraging and underwriting entrepreneurship is vital to the welfare of Oregon, the United States and beyond,” Stern said.

“As a college and as a university, we are making major investments in the future of innovation in Oregon and beyond,” said Jeff Sorensen, director of the college’s Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship. “This gift allows us to capitalize on the growing momentum we are achieving in this space. We are grateful to Mr. Stern for recognizing the awe-inspiring potential of Oregon students through this gift.”

One such example of entrepreneurship and mentorship in action is our Oregon Innovation Challenge.

This year’s inaugural 12-week program, launched in January, guided students with mentorship and offered up to $10,000 each in funding support to 16 teams—whittled from an original 200-plus applicants.

—Lundquist College Communications