Chancellor Thorp to give speech on innovation

Chancellor Holden Thorp said he hopes that a speech today will spark interest in the long-awaited Innovate@Carolina plan.

The plan, which will cost $125 million, aims to make UNC a leading university in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Thorp said he will be using his recently-published book, “Engines of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University in the Twenty-First Century,” to better explain the plan to the University’s students and community.

Thorp and his co-author, Buck Goldstein, will be hosting a book signing following the event.

The book lays out a plan for the innovation process in a purposefully vague way, Thorp said.

“We want to challenge our University and others around the country,” he said.

Thorp said he wants the speech to teach individuals how they can get involved and recognize how things they already do can be used in the plan.

The current student population has a broader perspective than past generations, which would promote the ideas behind the plan, he said.

“We have all the ingredients we need to face the challenges in front of us,” Thorp said.

Goldstein said a greater entrepreneurial mind-set is essential to the innovation plan.

“We want to promote a culture that encourages innovation and risk-taking,” Goldstein said.

A university’s broad set of resources are also important, he said.

Judith Cone, special assistant to the chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship who was in charge of the crafting of the plan, said she wants the University to realize its role in the broader world and challenge the status quo.

Students, alumni and parents would be involved in the implementation of the plan to make sure different perspectives are incorporated, Cone said.

She said the diversity of involvement will help to broaden the conversation about innovation.

And this is what Thorp hopes to gain through the talk.

“The more student involvement, the better,” he said.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.