Baylor Business Review | Fall 2024 Issue

Give Light: Spring 2021

Give Light: Spring 2021

Spring 2021: Critical Linking: Baylor Business Alumni Take on Pivotal Roles in the Supply Chain Field / by

Home / Spring 2021: Critical Linking: Baylor Business Alumni Take on Pivotal Roles in the Supply Chain Field / Give Light: Spring 2021

Baylor Family Helps Lead the Way for Innovation and Ingenuity

The Hankamer School of Business has taken great strides forward in entrepreneurial innovation, thanks to the support of business alumni and the Hankamer community.

Baylor University announced the creation of the Terry S. Maness Endowed Chair in Lab-to-Market Entrepreneurship, along with an endowed fund to support the Lab-to-Market Collaborative, helping to establish the Hankamer School of Business as a campus leader in the University’s efforts to commercialize research.

Give Light campaign graph showing total productivity (Baylor $933.8 million vs. Hankamer's $91.8 million) and Fiscal Year 2021 productivity (Baylor $63.1 million vs Hankamer's $5.8 million)

“It is truly humbling to be the recipient of such a great honor as the naming of an endowed faculty position here at Baylor,” Dean Terry S. Maness, DBA, said of the gift which also supports Give Light, the University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign. “It is critical to our research enterprise that we strengthen our approach to commercializing and monetizing that research so that it, in return, can fund future academic discovery, especially at the BRIC. As I have said before, the success of the Lab-to-Market program is critical to Baylor fulfilling the promise of the BRIC. I am so thankful for the support of our alumni and the University in helping to fund this important endeavor.”

In November, the university announced a $1.5 million gift establishing the Maness Chair, which will lead efforts in the Lab-to-Market Collaborative (L2M), an interdisciplinary effort to translate research into viable commercial and business concepts at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaboration (BRIC). Dean Maness views L2M, which serves as the pipeline created to handle such practices, as a key in strengthening the Central Texas economy and Baylor’s position as an economic driver in the state.

Hankamer alumni came together through fundraising efforts to create the Maness Chair and an endowment fund to support L2M. Baylor Business alumni, parents and friends are providing the resources and faculty to fulfill the aspirations of the BRIC, while creating opportunities for Hankamer to live up to its name at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation.

“L2M is Hankamer’s opportunity to help elevate the research enterprise throughout Baylor’s campus, beyond solely what we are undertaking through our own academic discovery,” Maness said. “This truly innovative solution will provide new streams of income to support research and discovery at Baylor. This opportunity will not only help fund future research—it will provide experiential, relevant opportunities for our students to step into the full life cycle of research—from innovation and invention to analysis and prototyping to investment and job creation.”

The Maness Chair also qualifies for the Baylor Academic Challenge program, the university’s dollar-for-dollar matching program for faculty positions created through donor support that undergird and advance the priorities of Illuminate, Baylor’s academic strategic plan. The Chair is named in honor of Dean Terry Maness in gratitude of his service to the School and his leadership as dean since 1997. After 43 years in higher education, Dean Maness has announced his plans to retire from his position leading the School of Business once a new dean has been named for the School.

If you would like to learn more about how you can support the L2M program or give in honor of Dean Maness, please contact Managing Director of Development Trey Hagins at Trey_Hagins@baylor.edu.