Judi Eyles
Ames, Iowa — Judi Eyles (’93 marketing) has been named director of the Iowa State University Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, effective immediately.
Eyles, who has been with the Pappajohn Center since it opened and has been instrumental in developing its experiential programs, previously served as assistant director of the center. She replaces Steve Carter, the only person to serve as director of the Pappajohn Center, which he has run since 1998. Carter will focus full-time on his work with the growing needs and expansions at the Iowa State University Research Park, where he serves as president.
“Judi has a strong history of growing our entrepreneurial programs at Iowa State,” said Raisbeck Endowed Dean David Spalding. “Judi was here when John Pappajohn announced his initial gift to open the center in 1996 and when the minor in entrepreneurship was launched in 1998. Iowa State really is the place to be for entrepreneurship in Iowa, and I cannot think of anyone better than Judi to take us into the future of growing our programs in entrepreneurship.”
Eyles said she is looking forward to the work ahead.
“The most important thing now is that we have wonderful momentum in entrepreneurship to build upon,” Eyles said. “The College of Business recently introduced a new entrepreneurship undergraduate major and PhD program. The college also announced a $50 million College of Business naming gift from Debbie and Jerry Ivy, which has a component focused on entrepreneurship and student experiential learning. Our CYstarters student accelerator and the Research Park’s Startup Factory provide opportunities for students and others to launch companies in a supported environment. Our role will be to continue to expand the reach of entrepreneurship programming to more students and provide support to students and members of our community who are interested in pursuing business ventures,” she said.
“This is a very exciting time to be involved with entrepreneurship and be connected to the College of Business,” Eyles said.
Located in ISU’s Research Park, the Pappajohn Center is under the umbrella of the College of Business with dual reporting to the vice president of Economic Development and Business Engagement. The center, established through an initial $1 million gift from Des Moines businessman John Pappajohn and his wife, Mary, helps support startup activities across campus.
The staff work collaboratively with each of the colleges on campus to provide experiential learning for students beyond what they get in the classroom, and supports students, faculty and community members working on a startup or growing a small business. Eyles also works with the four other Pappajohn centers (University of Northern Iowa, Drake University, University of Iowa, and North Iowa Area Community College), the SBDC, and the ISU economic development units on joint programming.
Read the article at business.iastate.edu
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