Kelley names new director

Donald F. Kuratko, or 'Dr. K' as he likes to be called, has been named executive director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at IU. \nKuratko, a former distinguished professor at Ball State, hopes to lead the entrepreneurship program in new directions and he has plenty of experience to do so. \n"I am extremely excited and proud to have this dream opportunity at a prestigious Big Ten institution," Kuratko said in a statement. "Indiana University is considered world-class in terms of leadership, faculty, facilities and students, and I am truly honored to be joining the faculty at the Kelley School of Business."\nDr. Lynne D. Richardson; Dean of the Miller College of Business said Kuratko is a well respected professor and mentor.\n"I think from a classroom perspective he's got students on the edge of their seats," Richardson said. "I've sat in on his classes and he grips the students' attention and you follow his lectures and stories of business life and you can't believe (when the) time is up. (He is) by far one of the best teachers I've seen. He literally has contact with his student from the past 20 years and they ask him for help." \nRichardson said Kuratko's departure is a great loss for Ball State but coming to IU was a dream of Kuratko's.\n"It is a great loss," she said. "(IU is) getting a treasure, he's got very high energy, and a drive. He works harder than anyone else I know. He's getting his dream."\nKelley School of Business Interim Dean Daniel Smith said the process of choosing Kuratko was easy. The Kelley School of Business set a goal to find a director who could take the school's entrepreneurship program to No. 1 in the nation. \n"At the end of the day, because of his record, he's regarded as the No. 1 entrepreneur director in the country," Smith said. "We didn't interview anybody else, we interviewed him and talked casually to other candidates, but he was our first and foremost candidate. Kuratko brings with him an incredible sense of vision and leadership and a proven track record in the past. He also strikes me as a man with high integrity, his values fit with that of the KSOB very high standard of excellence."\nKuratko will begin his new position Jan. 1.\n-- Contact senior writer Lindsay Jancek at lmjancek@indiana.edu .