Converse College

Converse College is an all-women’s liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Converse College continues to adhere to its founder's ideals, seeking to inspire "voice, value, and vision" in its students.It has received press in past years for lowering its tuition by 43 percent. In 2014, it ranked 23rd among Regional University South’s college rankings. At the end of the 2014/2015 academic year, Converse initiated many progressive changes to its curriculum and culture under the umbrella "LEAD" Action Plan. The LEAD Plan (Learning, Enrollment, Access, and Activation) at Converse College includes the addition of programs, certificates, and centers in avariety of disciplines, an experiential learning graduation requirement for all majors, and the "Creativity that Works" plan in the School of the Arts. Converse College also has a strong presence in the Spartanburg community for service and service learning; this January, Converse had the highest participation rate for students actively involved in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship

For what Converse (presently) lacks in engineering and technology programs and resources, it makes up in student passion and initiative. Students are encouraged by faculty, staff, and campus leaders to participate in innovative activities, provide solutions for campus-wide problems, and create programs or organizations to tackle them. There is no formalized problem solving or venture creation process, but some channels students can access when looking to implement solutions or open dialogue are the individual academic departments, the Center for Professional Development, the Office of Student Life, the Center for Leadership and Service, the President's Office, and the Student Government Association (SGA).

A significant portion of the student body is actively involved in the SGA. Three prominent student-centered initiatives in the 2014/2015 year were WISE (Women Involved in Saving the Environment), Converse College Radio, and The Conversationalist (the Converse online newspaper). Converse College Radio, in particular, has been entrepreneurial from its inception a few months ago. At present, there is no SGA organization that caters to the specifically entrepreneurial needs of the students.

Encouraging faculty innovation and entrepreneurship

Faculty are encouraged to engage in innovative teaching methods, including addressing typical subject matters in out of the box ways. This includes everthing from teaching economics through Harry Potter, to creating a Career Peer mentoring service through the Career Development Center. However, there is no formailzed system through with teachers and faculty are spurred to push entrepreneurship and innovation in the classroom. Innovation is pursued on a personal basis, and is a direct response to students clamoring for better options.

Actively supporting the university technology transfer function

Converse currently has no formalized function to support student ventures on campus. Students looking for venture support should look to outside sources of information, like the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Social Entrepreneurship Retreat, area businesses such as the Iron Yard, or like-minded students on campus to either start an initiative for a formalized function or receive specialized instruction for their individual ventures.

Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration

Converse currently has no formalized partnerships with companies or groups in the space of I&E, however, individual students have gone on to work with local incubators, labs, art studios, and so on. However, the fruits of these individual partnerships have not resulted in permanent relationships with the insitution. Converse would fare well to more succinctly create these partnerships, so interested students have pipelines to follow once interested.

Engaging with Regional and Local Development Efforts

As an Algernon Sydney Sullivan school, Converse has a longstanding tradition of service to others. In recent years, this focus has continued on to social entrepreneurship. A select number of collegiate courses are dedicated to Social Entrepreneurship’s applications in the surrounding community, and worldwide. Particularly interested individuals can choose to attend the Sullivan Social Enterprise retreat in the fall or spring sessions. Converse has also sent a team to the foundation’s social venture competition. Converse continues to increase its Social entrepreneurship offerings, from courses and seminars to exploratory learning trips.

Future

In 2014, Converse funded its first university Innovation Fellow, Nadia Gathers. Funding this program has put Converse’s dedication to constant growth and institution-wide innovation at the forefront. It joins other upstate universities in the program, including Wofford, Clemson, and Furman.

Converse currently offers extensive programs in skills such as leadership, managerial processes, and others necessary to build a successful repertoire outside of college or university. It also provides multiple opportunities for students to conduct individualized institutional research.

Among the news initiatives that will all be in effect by the end of the 2016/2017 academic year arethe Business Professional Development Certificate (Economics, Business, and Accounting), the Digital Arts Certificate (English, Graphic Design, and Computer Science), and the the Vocational and Career Development Curricular Integration Plan in the School of the Arts (Art & Design, Theater and Musical Theater, School of Music, and Dance).

Although it’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is in its infancy, Converse’s dedication to fostering female leadership and excellence primes it for a revolution in the space.

School:Converse College

Contents