LSU renamed Entrepreneurship Institute for Stephensons

Toni Stephenson displays her new LSU polo shirt, which is embroidered with the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute mark. The Entrepreneurship Institute program was renamed in honor of Toni and Emmet Stephenson, who recently pledged a $25 million donation for LSU, including $4 million specifically for what is now the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute. Pictured from left to right, Dean Robert Sumichrast of the E. J. Ourso College of Business; Toni Stephenson; Karen Deville, director of the Advancement Office of the E.J. Ourso College of Business; and Emmet Stephenson.

May 25, 2007 — LSU has renamed The Entrepreneurship Institute at LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business to honor university alumni Emmet and Toni Stephenson. The Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute, as it will now be known, has received a $4 million pledge from the couple that will be used to redefine its mission.

“The mission of the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute is to inspire, innovate, integrate and implement new ways of thinking, education, research and outreach to positively impact students, the regional economy, the state of Louisiana and the nation,” said Mark Weaver, director of the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute. “We are extremely pleased that these two accomplished entrepreneurs have chosen to make such a valuable investment in what we do.”

The Stephensons’ $4 million pledge is part of the $25 million pledge they made to LSU in February. Their donation is among the largest gifts ever to the university and has accelerated the momentum of the “Forever LSU” campaign.

“This reinforces how gratifying it is to see the passion and support our alumni have for the university,” said LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. “The Stephensons’ generosity will allow huge strides in various academic and research components of the Entrepreneurship Institute and LSU to be made that will benefit countless individuals and groups in their development of new economic avenues.”

New funding will permit the Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute, the Louisiana Business & Technology Center, the Small Business Development Center, the LSU System Emerging Technology Center, the Louisiana Fund I,Engineering Research Centers and other colleges within LSU to create amore responsive environment to assist in economic development and entrepreneurship-related endeavors.

Emmet Stephenson is the founder and president of Stephenson and Company,a private investment company, and senior partner of Stephenson Ventures,a private equity firm. He also serves as a director of Danaher Corp. andis the retired chairman of StarTek Inc. Stephenson graduated magna cumlaude from LSU with a bachelor of science degree from the College ofBusiness Administration in 1967 and was ranked first in his graduatingclass. In his senior year, he served as president of the LSU College ofBusiness. He also graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School andreceived the Ralph Thomas Sayles Fellowship in Investments.

At LSU, he was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 2006; was inducted into the LSU Kappa Sigma Hall of Distinction in 2005; was a speaker in the Flores MBA Distinguished Speaker Series in 1999; and was inducted into the E. J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction in 1998. Stephenson previously served as president of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association. He received the Albert Einstein Technology Medal in 1999.

Toni Stephenson is the founder and president of General Communications Inc. She was publisher of Law Enforcement Product News and Public Safety Product News and was a founder and director of Charter Bank and Trust. She earned a bachelor of science degree from LSU in 1967, where she served on the Student Council, and completed the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program in 1990. She served as president of the Children’s Hospital Association of Volunteers, a director of the Children’s Hospital, a director of Anchor Center for Blind Children and a director of St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Both Emmet and Toni Stephenson currently serve on the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors and are recognized in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. They have been married for nearly 40 years and have one daughter.

The “Forever LSU” campaign is designed to raise private funds for LSU to improve the university’s academic and research capabilities and to help it compete with other flagship universities in the nation. The campaign combines the efforts of the university’s three fundraising bodies – the LSU Alumni Association, the LSU Foundation and the Tiger Athletic Foundation.

For more information on how you can support the E. J. Ourso College of Business contact Wendy Luedtke at 225-578-8865 or wendy@lsu.edu.

“Forever LSU,” the campaign for Louisiana State University, has a goal of raising $750 million for our LSU by the year 2010. Every Tiger can help. Find out how at www.foreverlsu.org .