LAWRENCE — Beginning this fall, entrepreneurial-minded students at the University of Kansas will have the opportunity to hone their business skills and generate needed funds to start their own businesses.
The Mark L. Morris Jr. New Venture Development Award will be given to each of the top 10 new business plans submitted by KU undergraduate students to the School of Business.
A panel of financiers, company executives and student officers of the KU Entrepreneurship Club will judge the best business plans. Ten students will receive $200. The top four will earn $2,000 each, and the student with the best business plan will receive an additional $5,000.
Submission guidelines and deadlines are forthcoming. Visit the School of Business Web site for more information.
The program was funded by a $250,000 gift to KU Endowment from Morgan Creek Capital Management of Chapel Hill, N.C., in honor of Mark L. Morris Jr., who died in January at the age of 72.
Morris, who attended KU from 1952 to 1954, was a Topeka veterinarian known for his innovative business skills. The Morris family was the first to link pet health to nutrition. The results of their research led to the development of various products, including two well-known pet foods — Hill’s Prescription Diet and Hill’s Science Diet.
Morris’ son David is president of ZuPreem, which focuses on the dietary needs of zoo animals. A former KU student, Morris said his father would have liked the idea of encouraging students to start up businesses.
“Dad was an entrepreneur and really believed that it was hard work and individual tenacity that oftentimes made the difference in growing a business,” Morris said. “If we can help foster some people through the University of Kansas — which is the university that he loved — through these business grants and if that may be the vehicle to fulfill their dreams, he'd be real excited about it.”
Dennis Miner, managing director of Morgan Creek, described Mark Morris, who was his client, as the epitome of a good businessman and entrepreneur.
“Mark Morris gave us great advice on how to be successful, how to build a business — the client comes first — and how to build a great team,” Miner said.
The Morgan Creek gift will provide $10,000 in awards each year from the $250,000 endowed fund. In addition, David Morris and his family are contributing $25,000.
Mark Morris and his wife, Bette, who were married for 49 years, have been longtime supporters of KU.
“I think he would feel very honored to have such an award named for him and to have recognition of him as an entrepreneur,” Bette Morris said.
The competition is open to all KU students, in recognition that entrepreneurs can be derived from all college disciplines.
“We’re hoping to see talented, excited, committed students with great ideas and plans on how to execute them,” Miner said.
Wally Meyer, director of KU’s Center for Entrepreneurship, was instrumental in designing the award program.
“A student who has a dream that he or she wants to pursue is now going to be able to take that dream to the next executable level,” Meyer said. “This provides the opportunity for a similar experience to that which Mark Morris created for himself when he established what since has become Hill’s Science Diet pet food. Not only did he grow a business, but he also provided a huge benefit to animal lovers around the world.”
The gift will be managed by KU Endowment, an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the oldest foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.
