A veteran of national and international entrepreneurship programming recently spoke to a group of community leaders in research and innovation at the UALR Bailey Alumni Center about research opportunities in central Arkansas.

Judith Cone, special assistant to the chancellor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, led a discussion that included participation by UALR research faculty engaged in innovation and commercialization. UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson and Provost Dr. Zulma Toro also attended the presentation.

“Innovation is not a synonym for creativity,” Cone said. “We have a fiduciary responsibility to use our money to better society.”

Cone offered a definition of innovation focused on providing creativity, value, and execution. She said universities offered a great place to innovate because of their preponderance of faculty resources and research.

While at UNC, Cone helped develop and implement Innovate Carolina, which seeks ways for the North Carolina business community and universities to engage and encourage innovation and economic development.

Prior to her tenure at UNC, she spent 15 years in a leadership position at the Kauffman Foundation.

Attendees at the event also included Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, Jordan Carlisle, director of entrepreneurship and innovation at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Innovate Arkansas Director Tom Dalton, and Larry Cornett, vice chancellor for research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Jay Chesshir, Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub director and State Representative Warwick Sabin, and Arkansas Venture Center president Lee Watson were also present.

For more information about research innovations at UALR, contact UALR TechLaunch Director Jeff Stinson at jlstinson@ualr.edu or 501.683.7459.

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