Extended abstract: Revisioning academic entrepreneurship at a public regional comprehensive university in North Carolina

Abstract

As professional and technical writing faculty, we teach our students the entrepreneurial proficiencies that they need to be successful knowledge workers in a post-industrial age. Skills in networking, negotiation, and teamwork learned through the context of entrepreneurial endeavors prepare our students to manage boundaryless careers that will span shifting organizational contexts and alternating professional identities. Our location within a humanities department in a regional comprehensive university prompted us to develop innovative ways to negotiate our hybrid roles of instructors, mentors, and supervisors; pull together institutional resources; and integrate these opportunities into our curriculum. We present our approach as instructive for faculty in similar institutional contexts.