Alumni Fuel Faculty Fellowships in Entrepreneurship

Two Isenberg alumni—Barry Haase ’62 and David Gaunt ’70 MBA—are supporting entrepreneurship at Isenberg. The Barry Haase Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship is underwriting Professor William Wooldridge in his appointment as Managing Director of the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship. The David Gaunt Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate Entrepreneurship is supporting Professor Robert Wilson in his development and delivery of a series of courses in real estate.

The fellowships were inspired by the signature $10 million gift to Isenberg by Douglas Berthiaume ’71, which resulted in the center in his name. The term-based fellowships from Haase and Gaunt are not endowed gifts but multi-year commitments that support faculty who are leading initiatives that benefit the school.

Appointed Managing Director of the Berthiaume Center in September 2014, Professor Wooldridge is the central driver of Isenberg’s entrepreneurship activities and programming across the UMass Amherst campus. The Haase fellowship pays the Managing Director’s summer support and his travel in representing the Center, Isenberg, and UMass Amherst. It also helps him to foster a campus culture of entrepreneurship that includes considerable student participation.

As David Gaunt Fellow, Professor Wilson, who has extensive teaching, professional, and entrepreneurial experience in real estate, is devising and teaching a three-course sequence in the subject, which includes a capstone Real Estate Practicum. In addition, Professor Wilson is attracting speakers in the field to Isenberg and connecting students with the real estate community.