Overview

Converse College was founded on the radical idea that young women deserved a space, designed for them, to pursue higher education. Since that first year, Converse has continued to help those women find their voice, understand their true value, and refine their vision. As times change, however, so must we. How might we continue to adapt converse’s founding principles in order to serve a new generation of women?

We, as students, are entering a post-grad landscape far different than our predecessors. Steeped in technology, and connected on a massive, global scale, the tools we need to be successful in the world outside Converse’s campus are ever-changing. It is time for us to foster an innovative, creative ecosystem where failure is nothing but a starting point, and problems are nothing but opportunities.

Priority One: Spark Student Interest & Create Concrete Value

Converse has a longstanding tradition of self-governance. A large portion of her students hold leadership positions on campus, and Converse itself is student-regulated, adhering to a traditional honor code. The student body is an active one, fully involved in the creation and ideation of Converse's future.

However, most students simply aren't aware of entrepreneurship and innovation on any scale, especially not on Converse's campus. Engineering students spend only two years on campus, taking the basic courses before heading off to Clemson. Computer science majors are few and far between. What Converse lacks in technical majors, however, it makes up for in its empassioned students. In any given year, students plan fundraisers to help crisis centers and cancer research institutes, organize trips to serve all over the United States, perform institutional research, and design new and exciting clubs to promote student involvement. Converse students aren't uninterested, they simply need to be shown the value.

Prirority one speaks to that process. Entrepreneeurship and Innovation, in this case, are not about venture creation, maker spaces, or new engineering deapartments. They are about the tools and skills an entrepreneur learns that can be applied to every career path once out of Converse's walls. This process is about speaking to the interests of our student body, and introducing them to skills and themes that can help them in all disciplines.

PITCHConverse

Most pitch competitions revolve around business ideas. PITCHConverse is about community engagement. Students will be presented with a question, anything from "how might we improve the lives of south carolinian children?" to "how might we use technology in new ways on campus?" Solutions to these problems will be presented in a typical one minute format at an event sponsored by the Converse Honors Program and Religious Life.

PITCHConverse is designed to help students become acquainted with entrepreneurial keywords, themes, and ideas. It also introduces them to facets of the entrepreneurial toolkit, including concise, clear communication skills, and innovative problem solving. Overall, it is designed to be the first major starting block for students to begin their participation in institutional I&E.

PITCHConverse is scheduled for late spring 2015. In the next month, the engaged parties will need to: choose the high level question respondents will be engaging with, begin the advertisement campaign, decide on and reserve a location, and accrue the funding for the prizes.

Freshman Orientation

Orientation is a critical point for students to learn about the culture we uphold at Converse. It is also the point at which we have the opportunity to reach the most students at one time. Using the Network of University Innovation Fellows, including students from Furman, Wofford, and Clemson, we have the ability to offer modules during the Orientation experience to on-ramp students to Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The skills learned in these workshops will be applicable to all majors and discplines, focusing on the themes of creative confidence, communication, and learning from failure.

Convocation Series

Students are required to attend a number of events in different categories every semester in order to develop all aspects of the human spirit. these events span everything from art installations to resume building workshops. The Convocation Series' leadership component seeks to strengthen the professional capabilities of students through participation in student government and career development workshops. We believe that this requirement is an excellent way to introduce students to the world of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Through partnerships with organizations like Venture for America, we will bring in lecturers in the fields of I&E to share their stories. If students cannot envision a future in which they apply these skills, they will never decide to pursue them. Females especially suffer from a lack of strong depictions of women in I&E. Bringing in success stories to share everything from the details of education tracks, to what a personal life looks like when entering these fields will provide a basis against which students can begin to envision themselves.

The Convocation series, leadership events in particular, also includes professional skill development. These events would be great places to introduce skills in technology, communication and creativity. Introducing themes seen in I&E will make the transition to explicit I&E a little easier.

Priority Two: Foster Entrepreneurial Toolkit

Once students are aware of I&E on a grander scale, they can start building the skills necessary to be successful. This priority section focuses primarily on building the skills of Innovation and Entrepreneurship applicable to all disciplines.

Leadership Retreat Training

A large portion of Converse's student body holds a leadership position on campus. One a year, these students converge in a multiple day leadership retreat, where they learn the basics of heading the coalitions and student boards they will be taking part in the entire school year. These students are go-getters- they have run for office, started organizations, or serve as extensions of student life.

During this retreat, we proposition that the principles of design thinking are taught much like it was taught to members of the University Innovation Fellows community at the regional meetup in Greenville, South Carolina. Students will be given a high level task, that they can divide into How Might We's, and rapidly move from brainstormnig solutions to presenting their days work. this process, we believe will strengthen their ability to work in high stress situations, communicate with a group, quickly prototype and roll out potential solutions, and learn from failures. Use of this model rather than preaching the tenets of leadership would be an amazing, fast paced way to get these students immersed in I&E culture while also learning tangible skills that will aid them throughout the school year.

Priority Three: Increase Community-Converse Partnerships

Converse is a small institution that, as mentioned earlier, doesn't have a mountain of technological resources ready to deploy at a whim. However, we are surrounded by other members of the University Fellows community in close proximity to our own institution.

UI Fellows Coalition

By tapping into resources like furman, Clemson, and Wofford, our students will hopefully be able to not only learn what Entrepreneurship and Innovation movements look liek at our own school, but also at others. In planning regional events, and pushing students to resoures that Converse may not be able to produce on its own, students will be able to interact with a number of communities right outide their window. This four school coalition will seek to support and expand any movements we make at our own institutions.

Priority Four: Create Pipeline for I&E Students

Once a student has decided that I&E is the way for them to go, there are no concrete steps for them to take. In developing students passionate about this movement, we must also understand that they require a path necessary to follow once they are dedicated. Priority four is tasked primarily with the development of concrete institutional pathways through which these students can easily navigate.

Interdisciplinary Programming

Converse already offers team taught courses, bridging disciplines like english and bioogy to give students a new perspective in various topics. We offer that business focused students pair up with students in other disciplines to form new solutions for problems outside profit expansion. As a school with a history in social entrepreneurship, solving problems in innovative, business focused ways would be a natural progression in programming. Much like Extreme by Design, these programs cold be tailored to help externally contracted entities like the Rape Crisis Center, the regional school system, or local nonprofits.

Course Offerings

Social Entrepreneurship was the only class offered in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. As we expand the horizons of individual students, the course offerings must expand as well.. At a small instituion, this is often tricky. However, using the tools we showed earlier, we can find ways to make I&E classes open and inclusive, as well as to carry GEP, and multidisciplinary course requirements.

Social Entrepreneurship Curriculum

As an Algernon Sydney Sullivan School, we offer that Social Entrepreneurship deserves a concrete place in our institutions curriculum. By instituting a Social Entrepreneurship minor, major, or concentration program and the courses involved, a support system is established for those students looking to more fully explore in the field. This process will continue to develop faculty who are knowledgeable in the subject, as well as explicit pathways for individuals to follow once they are invested in I&E.

Priorities:Converse College Student Priorities

Contents