The Kauffman Foundation announced the awarding of $25 million in grants — of which UNC will receive $3.5 million. Under the Kauffman Campuses Initiative, which was announced Dec. 15, the selected schools must match the Kauffman grant at least 2-to-1. Kenan-Flagler Business School will play a key role in the initiative.

With its grant, UNC will create the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative, which will be led by the business school’s Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, a campus hub and outreach arm for collaboration among academia, government, business and civil society.

Jack Kasarda, Kenan Institute director and Kenan distinguished professor of management and sociology, will head the campuswide initiative, which will focus on creating traditional business entrepreneurs, as well as social, civic and academic entrepreneurs.

"The Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative will make entrepreneurship part of the weave and fabric of the Carolina experience," said UNC Chancellor James Moeser. "Through this initiative our university will build a permanent foundation of faculty expertise, exciting educational opportunities for students and productive engagement with the wider entrepreneurial community.

"This is an opportunity to make entrepreneurship a life-changing experience for a wide array of undergraduate and graduate students and faculty," Kasarda said. "We have a chance to push the boundaries of entrepreneurship with this Kauffman grant."

"Entrepreneurship is not a fad — it's an enduring American phenomenon," said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation.

"If roughly one in 10 Americans are trying to start a business at any given time, shouldn't we be preparing more to succeed? These Kauffman Campuses schools will create a boundary-less culture of entrepreneurship, empowering all students on campus to access the skills, orientation and networks that can lead to greater opportunities for them and to the creation of jobs, innovation and prosperity for America," he added.

A panel of judges selected the eight universities from 15 finalist schools that participated in the six-month Kauffman Campuses competition. In June, each of 15 finalist schools received a $50,000 planning grant by the Kauffman Foundation to develop and submit an innovative and comprehensive five-year plan to inject entrepreneurship training and experiences into the culture of the university.

Other selected universities selected to receive Kauffman Foundation grants are Florida International University, Howard University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Rochester, the University of Texas at El Paso, Wake Forest University and Washington University in St. Louis.

The Kauffman Foundation, established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org.