The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation awarded $300,000 to UNC-Chapel Hill to fund a short course or "boot camp" in July for junior faculty interested in research on minority and women’s entrepreneurship.

Few scholars study minority entrepreneurship, said James H. Johnson Jr., a UNC Kenan-Flagler management professor who — along with Timothy Bates of Wayne State University — is co-director of the program.

"The goal of the boot camp is to foster the growth of the next generation of talented scholars who will advance the knowledge of minority and women’s entrepreneurship through cutting-edge research," said Johnson, who also is director of the Kenan Institute’s Urban Investment Strategies Center.

The boot camp will bring leading senior scholars in minority and women’s entrepreneurship together with junior faculty for a three-day intensive training and networking session. Ten distinct sessions will be offered — two for the entire group and eight addressing critical research issues or topics.

Program participants will be required to attend at least four of the eight thematic sessions based on their personal research interests. Possible themes include job creation patterns among black-owned businesses, using minority business promotion as an economic development strategy, issues facing minority business borrowers, analysis of venture capital funds for the minority business sector and an overview of research issues for minority and women-owned businesses.

In the final session, program participants will meet with the distinguished faculty members of their choice to discuss cutting-edge research ideas. They will consult with faculty about how to transform their research ideas into high-quality, fundable proposals, Johnson said.

Leading entrepreneurship research scholars will be recruited for the boot camp to serve as instructors, including UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Howard Aldrich, a professor of sociology and management who is internationally recognized for his entrepreneurship research.

The grant also will help to establish a research fund to jumpstart the young scholars’ research programs following successful completion of the boot camp.

"Junior faculty members’ research proposals will be reviewed by a panel of experts, and five grants will be awarded on a competitive basis," Johnson said.

The $300,000 grant is in addition to a $3.5 million grant UNC received in December from the Kauffman Foundation to create the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI), which will focus on creating traditional business entrepreneurs as well as social, civic and academic entrepreneurs. Led by the Kenan Institute, CEI will build a permanent foundation of faculty expertise, exciting educational opportunities for students and engagement with the wider entrepreneurial community.