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The Hillman Entrepreneurs Program: A New Educational Entrepreneurship Model that Partners The David H. and Suzanne D. Hillman Family Foundation, Inc., Prince George’s Community College, and The University of Maryland, College Park

Karen Thornton, Jacqueline Rogers, Kristin Waters, Nathan Myers, Lisa Rawlings

Abstract

Prince Georges Community College (PGCC), the University of Maryland (UM) and the David and Suzanne Hillman Family Foundation have established a three-way partnership that creates a new model for entrepreneurship education. This new program strengthens and expedites the development of aspiring entrepreneurs through mentoring, community building, and class work as students move through the community college to graduation from UM supported by scholarships from the Hillmans. This paper describes the program features, the learning curve of the stakeholders as they navigate working across the boundaries of two academic systems, and early outcomes of this new program.

Introduction

The Hillman Entrepreneurs Program launched in fall 2006 with the selection of the first cohort of 20 students attending PGCC. This three-year pilot program will provide mentoring and four years of scholarship support to four cohorts of 20-30 students. After the evaluation conducted in year three, David Hillman will decide whether to terminate, continue, or expand the program. Once admitted to the program, scholarship support will continue for students to graduation thus extending Hillman’s commitment to a minimum of seven years. Hillman Entrepreneurs begin their college experience at the two-year school. Students graduate with an Associates degree and then transfer exclusively to UM to earn their bachelor’s degree in a major of their choosing.

The program is housed in the Behavioral, Social and Business Studies Division at PGCC and in the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH) at UM, a part of the A. James Clark School of Engineering. If the program succeeds, Hillman wants to extend it to other local two- year institutions where his company, Southern Management, has a presence.

The Donor

David Hillman was born and raised in Maryland and is devoted to giving back to the region that contributed to his success. As a teenager, Hillman attended the prestigious Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in Montgomery County, but he wasn’t among the serious students vying for places at Ivy League universities. He describes himself as an ordinary high school student, not college bound, without clear aspirations and with no real sense of who he was.

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Thornton, K., & Rogers, J., & Waters, K., & Myers, N., & Rawlings, L. (2007, June), The Hillman Entrepreneurs Program: A New Educational Entrepreneurship Model That Partners The David H. And Suzanne D. Hillman Family Foundation, Inc., Prince George’s Community College, And The University Of Maryland, College Park Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2167