Doherty Center announces new leader

Palin comes to Elon from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., where he had served since 1992 as executive director of the Entrepreneurship Education Initiative and lecturer. A 1986 graduate of the MBA program at Bryant University, Palin has extensive experience as an entrepreneur having founded several successful business ventures during his career.

“We are fortunate to have Gary Palin joining the Love School of Business and Elon team to lead the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership,” said Mary Gowan, dean of the Love School of Business. “He brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and contacts that will enable us to build off our existing strong entrepreneurship programs and take them to the next level.” 

Palin is a member of the MIT Global Startup Workshop Board of Advisors, a founding member of the Social Entrepreneurship and Education Consortium, founder of the Entrepreneurship and Education Network and a participant in the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, among other associations. He has recently been named a recipient of the 2008 Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Award from the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

At Elon, Palin will lead the Doherty Center in developing students across campus to be future entrepreneurial leaders and position students for success on a global scale.  The center supports scholarships for students, an endowed professorship for entrepreneurial leadership, an annual endowed Entrepreneur-of-the-Year lecture and numerous related activities.

“Elon University is positioned to be a global leader in entrepreneurship education,” Palin said. “I am honored to be selected to lead this effort at the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and look forward to the economic and social impact our students will have on humanity.”