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The Portman Entrepreneurial Leadership Fund was established in 2004 by William C. Portman '45 Tu'47, together with Robert J. Portman '78, William C. Portman III Tu'81, and Virginia Portman Amis. The fund is designed to "foster an understanding and appreciation of small business development, entrepreneurial activity and risk-taking, and the role that public policy plays in shaping its course." Income from the fund provides the Director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College with a flexible resource to support the Portman Lectures in the Spirit of Entrepreneurship, and other related initiatives, such as conferences, workshops, or internships for undergraduates.
The Portman Lectures in the Spirit of Entrepreneurship bring to campus cutting-edge policy thinkers and practitioners in the areas of small business development and entrepreneurship. These may include small business persons and entrepreneurs; high ranking government officials; leaders of prominent business organizations; researchers from leading universities, think tanks and foundations concentrating on issues of small business development; and state directors of economic development. Portman events are not held every year. Distinguished guests may spend one or more days on campus or be invited for multiyear visitorships, give a public lectures, participate in classes, and meet informally with students to discuss related issues and career possibilities.
May 9, 2025
"100 Days Speaker Series"
The Honorable Gina Raimondo
The 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce
February 7, 2024
"A Spectacular Vision"
John Jerit
Owner/CEO of American Paper Optics John Jerit
October 21, 2022
Field Trip to Orvis Headquarters in Sunderland and Manchester, VT
Tuck and Undergraduate Students
May 16, 2022
"Orvis: Conscious Capitalism and the Evolution of a 165-Year-Old-Brand"
Panelists:
Simon Perkins, President, Orvis
Bill McLaughlin D'78, T'81, Former President and CEO, Orvis
February 16, 2021
"Women, Entrepreneurship, and Atlanta in the New South"
Monica Delores Hooks '92
Executive Director, Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative
April 9, 2019
"A Fireside Chat with Steve Glickman, Moderated by Dean Slaughter"
Steve Glickman
Founder and Ceo, Develop LLC; Co-Founder and Former CEO, Economic Innovation Group; Former Senior Economic Advisor, National Security and National Economic Councils, Obama Administration
May 23, 2018
"Student Debate with The Economist"
Student Debaters: Connie Lee '18, Olivia Hunter '19, Albert Chen '20, and Zachary Johnson '20
October 4, 2016
"Entrepreneurship and Our Growth Challenge"
Glenn Hubbard
Dean, Columbia Business School
October 16, 2015
"Strategies for State Economic Prosperity -- Small Business Entrepreneurship and Job Creation"
Mike Kennealy '90
Assistant Secretary for Business Growth for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development
April 14, 2015
"Are CEOs Overpaid?"
Lucian Bebchuck
William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance; Director of the Program on Corporate Governance; Harvard Law School
Steven N. Kaplan
Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
May 14, 2014
"Financial Inclusion and Woman Empowerment"
Chetna Sinha
Founder and Chairperson, Mann Deshi Mahila Bank and the Mann Deshi Foundation, Ashoka Fellow
April 12, 2013
"What is Online Learning?"
Chip Paucek
Ceo and Co-Founder, 2U, Inc.
April 19, 2012
"Entrepreneurship and the Future of the Global Economy"
Carl J. Schramm
President, Schramm & Company; Bush Fellow, George W. Bush Institute; Visiting Scientist, MIT
November 10, 2010
"'Shooting an Elephant' -- or Why be Leadership Literate?"
Barbara Kellerman
James McGregor Burns Lecturer in Leadership, Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
October 28, 2009
"Leadership Lessons Learned on the Firing Line"
Anne Mulcahy
Chairman, Xerox Corporation
April 15, 2009
"Flickr, Social Computing, and the New Humanities"
Stewart Butterfield
Co-Founder, Flickr
May 7, 2008
"Entrepreneurship in the Digital Age"
Richard Parsons
Chairman of the Board and Former CEO, Time Warner
May 10, 2007
"People-Centric Cultures Pay Big Dividends: Lessons from Great Companies"
Anna Rhoades
Founding Executive Vice President of People, JetBlue Airways; President, People Ink
April 28, 2006 (Inaugural)
"The Bernie Marcus Story: Visionary, Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist"
Bernie Marcus
Co-Founder and Former CEO, The Home Depot