Hezel Associates Collaborates with University Of The Virgin Islands Leadership To Craft Entrepreneurial Policy
New Policy Establishes Guidelines for Implementation of Revenue-Generating Activities.
Hezel Associates recently collaborated with University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) administrators to create a set of draft policies that provide for the use and protection of intellectual property and related business and entrepreneurial endeavors flowing from University resources and research.
Officials at UVI asked Hezel Associates to help create the draft policy with collaboration and input from University faculty and staff. Dr. Richard T. Hezel, president of Hezel Associates, facilitated the development of the draft policy based on his discussions with University administrators, faculty and staff.
“As universities seek new revenue streams, many must balance the tension between their original mission of teaching, researching and serving, and their need to capture and protect the funding related to their entrepreneurial activities,” Hezel said. “This policy forges the common ground -- it helps to focus on UVI’s current capabilities in this area and what they will need to do in the future.”
Many universities maintain such a policy to govern the ideas that are generated in an academic environment, which can include patentable inventions, processes, trade secrets, writings, or other research that may hold a commercial value.
“We will rely on this policy for structure and consistency as we move forward with our equal commitments to academic and entrepreneurial success,” University of the Virgin Islands President Dr. Laverne Ragster said. “We recognize the importance of protecting the assets we have as a higher education institution and as a business incubator.” The draft intellectual property policy will be subject to final review by the UVI Board of Trustees.
Traditional and online group processes guided the creation of the University’s new policy. Hezel conducted two, eight-day sessions with administrators and faculty at the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses. The Hezel Web site supported collaborative dialogue among the University’s Policy Development Initiative team members, allowing them to review proposed policy on a client Web page and provide comment for consideration before adoption by the University’s president and cabinet.
About The University of the Virgin Islands
The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) is a public, U.S. land-grant university with campuses on St. Thomas and St. Croix. UVI’s mission is to provide quality academic programs and to advance knowledge through innovative research and public service activities. A major provider of intellectual capital in the Caribbean, UVI is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.The University offers associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, a post-master’s degree program in educational psychology, professional development and certificate workforce training courses. The university’s 2,600 full-time, part-time and graduate students come from the U.S. Virgin Islands, 21 U.S. states and approximately 15 countries, primarily in the Eastern Caribbean.
UVI sees itself as an institution that specializes in futures. With the addition of the UVI Research and Technology Park on St. Croix, the University is poised to fully realize its vision of being a university that demonstrates excellence in collaboration and service, even as it facilitates the economic and social development of the Virgin Islands. www.uvi.edu