Biz Courier: UC Center for Entrepreneurship, Venture Lab merge
Entrepreneurship head Kate Harmon to lead unified effort to drive innovation
A new partnership between two University of Cincinnati innovation fulcrums is designed to provide UC entrepreneurs with easier access to support and resources, customized programming and activities, and to build a stronger ecosystem for inventors.
Announced last week, the merger between the UC Center for Entrepreneurship — housed in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business — and the UC Venture Lab — located in the 1819 Innovation Hub — will be led by Kate Harmon, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the El and Elaine Bourgraf Director of Entrepreneurship.
The Cincinnati Business Courier (subscription required) noted that since arriving at UC in mid-2021, Harmon has helped launch nearly a dozen student ventures over the past year; hired the Center’s first paid entrepreneur-in-residence (Allen Woods, co-founder of MORTAR); and founded a pair of student organizations centered on venture investing/capital (Bearcat Ventures) and sustainability (Net Impact); and established the Bearcat Student Venture Fund.
Kate Harmon, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the El and Elaine Bourgraf Director of Entrepreneurship. Harmon is also now assistant vice president, 1819 Innovation Hub.
“We must always be looking for ways to better support our entrepreneurs — and this integrated team enables us to do just that,” said Ryan Hays, executive vice president and chief innovation and strategy officer at UC, in a UC release. “Kate is a gifted leader who will take our efforts to the next level. The whole innovation ecosystem will benefit greatly from this new vision for entrepreneurship at UC.”
Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Center for Entrepreneurship champions entrepreneurial education through interdisciplinary curricula and co-curricular programming, funding, mentoring and connections to the Cincinnati startup community.
Established in 2018, the Venture Lab helps entrepreneurs from idea conception to startup launch. Through a pre-accelerator course and other offerings, the Venture Lab connects innovators at UC and beyond to knowledge, talent and resources to help launch scalable startups.
“Building upon the commercialization success of the Venture Lab and the Cincinnati Innovation District, this new partnership will allow us to reimagine what Entrepreneurship 2.0 might look like at UC and take our entrepreneurship and innovation efforts to the next level through a more coordinated approach of resource offerings,” said Harmon, who has added assistant vice president, 1819 Innovation Hub, to her job title.
Read more from the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Featured image: The exterior of the 1819 Innovation Hub. UC file photo.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Fall grads celebrate their success at commencement
December 12, 2025
The University of Cincinnati recognized more than 2,600 graduates at its fall commencement.
Ohio nurses weigh in on proposed federal loan rule
December 12, 2025
Spectrum News journalist Javari Burnett spoke with UC Dean Alicia Ribar and UC nursing students Megan Romero and Nevaeh Haskins about proposed new federal student loan rules. Romero and Haskins, both seniors, were filmed in the College of Nursing’s Simulation Lab.
Bearcat Mascot, Cheer Team and scholarships help celebrate Decision Day
December 12, 2025
Cincinnati media organization provided news coverage of Decision Day activities at the University of Cincinnati on Dec. 10, 2025. Surprise announcements of the 2026 Marian Spencer Scholarship recipient occurred during the day.