Makerspaces, Education, and Social Spending: New Research Fellows Tackle Bold Projects
The Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce the selection of four new Entrepreneurship Research Fellows for 2019–2020: Paul Sanchez-Ruiz (DePaul University), Wendy Chen (George Mason University), Ileana Maldonado-Bautista (Baylor University), and Shelby Solomon (University of West Florida).
The goal of the Rowan Entrepreneurship Research Fellows program is to “connect the best and the brightest rising faculty talent from around the globe together with Rowan faculty to conduct collaborative research products addressing bold questions,” according to Eric Liguori, executive director of the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In essence, the program aims to foster meaningful collaborations and advance thought-leading scholarship that leverages the skills and expertise of Rowan’s diverse entrepreneurship faculty and programs. Each fellow receives a Rowan faculty partner, access to Rowan research resources, and a small honorarium to support their efforts.
Fellows Paul Sanchez-Ruiz and Ileana Maldonado-Bautista will be working through Rowan’s Studio 231 Learning Lab and Makerspace to explore contemporary trends in U.S. makerspaces. The maker movement has rapidly instilled itself into both primary and secondary education, but research into best practices and educational outcomes remains sparse. Susana Santos, assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the William G. Rohrer College of Business, notes “Given Rowan’s interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship education, award-winning Studio 231 program, and faculty consisting of some of the most influential entrepreneurship education scholars of the last decade, it was a no-brainer to collaborate with Paul and Ileana on this project.”
Fellow Wendy Chen’s project is a collaborative one between Chen, Rowan, and research partners at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater (UWW) and John Carroll University (JCU). Chen is working on overseeing the Entrepreneurship Education Project, the largest global study of entrepreneurship students and programs ever conducted. This longitudinal research effort, which has roots back to 2009, includes more than 18,000 students spanning more than 70 countries and 400 universities. Chen is focused on leading Phase II of the project, a follow-up with these 18,000 students almost ten years after their initial entrepreneurship coursework. This project is jointly supported by Rowan, UWW, and JCU.
Fellow Shelby Solomon’s project aims to analyze the social spending of 36 countries from 2000–2017 to explore the impact of spending on entrepreneurial attitudes and actions. A thorough understanding of if and how national policy can spur entrepreneurial action is central to entrepreneurship research and economic vitality, so the outcomes of this comprehensive study are well-positioned to help inform public policy around the globe.
