To nurture innovation, engineering college hires entrepreneur in residence

October 4, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The director of a Gainesville-based private equity firm and an experienced venture capital executive has joined the University of Florida College of Engineering as its first entrepreneur in residence.

David Whitney, managing director of Energent Ventures and a nearly 30-year veteran of venture capital investing, investment banking, commercial banking and real estate development, will teach and coach engineering students and faculty in all aspects of entrepreneurship.

“My role is to assist the college as it seeks to grow and diversify its entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Whitney said. “That includes everything from teaching entrepreneurial strategies and tactics to coaching faculty and students in starting companies.”

Erik Sander, the college’s director of industry programs, said the college chose to create the program as part of a broader effort focusing on innovation in both research and education.

“Innovation encompasses not only creativity, but also entrepreneurship,” Sander said. “In that realm, we wanted to assure that we engaged authorities within and outside the college. David has a wealth of hands-on experience, and we are lucky to have him on board.”

Whitney will assist in advancing entrepreneurial activities with engineering college faculty and students. This includes advising faculty and students on how best to understand and advance entrepreneurial opportunities and the college’s entrepreneurial culture.

Sander added that Whitney is already acting as a “virtual chairman of the board” for nine virtual companies involving almost 50 students in a graduate-level entrepreneurship for engineers class as they work on assignments to form and grow their virtual entrepreneurial enterprises.

“He brings a unique understanding of the entrepreneurial culture and what it can mean for the College of Engineering,” Sander said.

College of Engineering Dean Cammy Abernathy noted that Whitney’s arrival will help the college contribute to the state’s high-technology economy.

“We can be a great partner for the state in its drive to create a knowledge economy, especially if we are successful in fostering a culture of entrepreneurship in our faculty and students,” Abernathy said.

The UF job is not Whitney’s first foray in higher education: He served as an executive-in-residence at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2007, providing business advisory assistance to early stage technology companies and counseling companies’ senior management teams at RPI’s Business Incubator Center in Troy, N.Y.

Prior to forming Energent Ventures in 2006, Whitney spent 10 years in Silicon Valley, working with early stage, venture-backed companies in the technology, media, telecommunications, health care, life sciences, consumer business, and financial services industries. There, he most recently served as a senior manager in Deloitte’s Venture Capital practice.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University and an executive MBA from the University of San Francisco. He also earned a Certificate in BioEntrepreneurship from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s of science in real estate from UF.

At the engineering college, Whitney will contribute to the gathering momentum in innovation and entrepreneurship, Sander said. In the past decade, UF has applied for nearly 1,300 patents for innovations developed by engineering faculty and students. Meanwhile, the college has spawned 41 startup companies, including Alachua County-based Prioria, Sinmat, Innovative Scheduling, Enviroflux and WiPower.