The Provost has announced the creation of Social Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Dartmouth (SEID), a new interdisciplinary initiative designed to strengthen teaching, research, and experiential learning at the intersection of innovation and social impact.
Housed at the Rockefeller Center and developed in collaboration with faculty across economics public policy, engineering, environmental studies, and the social sciences, SEID aims to equip students with the tools to address complex societal challenges through rigorous analysis, creative problem-solving, and real-world engagement.
“Dartmouth is uniquely positioned to bridge liberal arts inquiry with entrepreneurial thinking,” said Barbara Will, Vice-Provost for Academic and International Affairs. “SEID builds on existing strengths across campus while creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.”
Over the next two academic years, SEID will launch new courses related to social entrepreneurship, spark research collaborations between faculty and social innovators to deepen the rigor, relevance, and impact of scholarly work, and expand experiential learning opportunities that connect students with practitioners and alumni working in social enterprises, impact investing, international development finance, and philanthropy.
Key components of SEID’s initial plan include:
- New interdisciplinary courses hosted by the Economics Department and the Rockefeller Center as well as immersion courses which include an international study component
- A network of Faculty Affiliates across departments with the goal of enhancing the quality, relevance, and societal impact of faculty scholarship in areas vital to social innovation.
- Experiential learning opportunities connecting students with internships, conferences, accelerators, and career opportunities in social entrepreneurship and innovation
“Faculty increasingly want to produce scholarship on meaningful problems and they want to deepen the relevance and impact of their scholarly work,” said Andrew Samwick, Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College. “That requirescross-disciplinary approaches. SEID creates a platform for that kind of intellectual and practical engagement with colleagues and with visionary leaders in the social impact world.”
By strengthening connections across academic units and leveraging the College’s alumni network, SEID reflects Dartmouth’s broader commitment to innovation and impact. Over the next two years, SEID will equip students with the intellectual foundation, global perspective, and practical skills necessary to engage meaningfully in the creation and advancement of socially innovative solutions and purpose-driven enterprises.
Housed at the Rockefeller Center, the Initiative will be overseen by Anna Mahoney, the Executive Director of the Rockefeller Center and Director of Social Entrepreneurship. The Initiative’s founding team members are:
- Katherine Milligan D’98, Senior Fellow. Katherine has served in executive and board roles in academia, philanthropy, and impact investing over a 20-year career, including as the Executive Director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum. In that role she supported the world’s largest community of late-stage social entrepreneurs, published cutting-edge research on social innovation policy, and created world-class executive education programs for founders and CEOs. A widely published thought leader on social innovation and systems change, she also serves as Board Chair of an award-winning social enterprise and has taught at leading universities in Europe.
- Curt Welling D’71, T’77, Senior Fellow. Since 2013, Curt has been a Clinical Professor at the Tuck School of Business where he founded the Tuck Social Venture Investment Fund and created courses at the intersection of business and society. Prior to Tuck, he spent 25 years in investment banking and 12 years as the CEO of Americares, an international health and emergency response NGO. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.
- Andrew Samwick, Faculty Director. Samwick is the Sandra L. and Arthur L. Irving ‘72a, P’10 Professor of Economics and formerly the director of the Rockefeller Center, the chair of the Department of Economics, and chief economist on the staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Since joining the faculty of Dartmouth in 1994, Andrew's scholarly work has covered a range of topics in public economics and finance, emphasizing the interaction of the public and private sectors. He teaches courses in financial theory and social entrepreneurship.
- Kwame Owusu Ansah, Program Manager. Kwame is the founder of Techstripped Africa and a social entrepreneur behind platforms such as Snuggli, Northstar, and Social Change Plus, which focus on mental wellness, purpose discovery, and storytelling. A Mandela Washington Fellow with roots in environmental science and youth development, Kwame has worked with the DALI Lab at the Thayer School of Engineering, bringing together design, technology, and purpose-driven venture building, and strengthened Dartmouth’s culture of social innovation as program manager for Social Entrepreneurship and the Greenshot Accelerator.
More information for faculty, students, and alumni is available on the Rockefeller Center website and at: seid.dartmouth.edu