UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Smeal College of Business alumnus Patrick Flanagan found a gap between classroom lessons from his undergraduate days as a business logistics major and the practical and tactical knowledge he needed to help drive shareholder value as an early career professional.
Recalling those early challenges and considering the path of his career as an innovator and business executive over the ensuing decades, Flanagan said he wanted to use his experience and financial resources to enable Penn State Smeal students to “accelerate the translation of academic learning to practical action when executing on business initiatives.”
That decision led Flanagan and his wife, Betsy, to make a $250,000 commitment to endow the Patrick and Betsy Flanagan Propel Business Seed Fund in the Penn State Smeal College of Business.
Their gift will allow Shawn Clark, Michael J. Farrell Professor of Entrepreneurship and director of Smeal’s Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, to realize a long-standing goal: providing real-world learning opportunities for undergraduate students passionate about venture capital investing while supporting Invent Penn State’s mission to spur economic development, job creation and student success.
This will be accomplished through a new program — the Propel Business Seed Fund — and the Flanagan’s gift will initiate and support this fund.
The Propel Fund, which will be housed in and administered by the Farrell Center, is a new addition to the broad portfolio of entrepreneurship services offered through the center’s Propel Business: New Venture and Innovation Program, which includes an internship program and digital library, as well as access to financial assistance, legal assistance, student consulting teams, venture funding and other offerings.
“We are extremely grateful to Patrick and Betsy for their passion, foresight and desire to help us launch this new venture,” Clark said. “Many students and companies will benefit from this program.”
The Propel Business Seed Fund was inspired by Smeal’s highly successful Garber Venture Capital Fund. That fund, established with a philanthropic gift from John and Betty Garber in 1999, has allowed professional graduate students to evaluate and invest in early-stage companies for nearly 25 years.
“Over time, we’ve seen the tremendous success of the Garber Venture Capital Fund in terms of the positive impact it has had on startup companies, the educational experience of our graduate students and in the form of investment returns which are reinvested in the fund,” Clark said. “Our hope has always been to provide the same real-world learning opportunities to our undergraduate students. The Flanagans’ gift helps make that possible.”
Under the Propel Business Seed Fund, Smeal undergraduate organizations, such as the Happy Valley Venture Capital student group, will evaluate startup companies and make investment decisions with guidance from an experienced faculty director or program coordinator who will be charged to oversee the fund, mentor students and ensure investments are consistent with university policy and procedures.
The Flanagan’s funding will be available to the Propel Business Seed Fund for student-selected investment activities.
“We are fortunate to have alumni and friends, like Patrick and Betsy, who share our vision of entrepreneurship, education and venture funding who have stepped forward to help push Smeal to be a leader in this space,” Clark said.
Patrick Flanagan graduated from Penn State with a degree in business logistics (now supply chain and information systems) in 1992 and began his professional career at Baxter Healthcare. He earned an MBA with a concentration in finance and marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in 1997.
During his more-than-30-year professional career, he has led commercial growth, international expansion, and financial and operational improvement initiatives for leading companies in the consulting, health care and software fields, including A.T. Kearney, Baxter International, Allegiance Healthcare and Oracle.
He joined Veristat, a contract research organization and health care consultancy that provides research services to other companies on a contract basis, in 2013 and currently serves as chief executive officer.
Betsy Flanagan earned a bachelor's degree in organizational studies from Northwestern University, where she was a two-time All-American field hockey player.
She spent time working in human resource management before choosing to stay home with the couple’s four children, Madeline, Thomas, Katherine and Campbell. Betsy is active as a school volunteer and in the community.
Betsy also supports rare cancer research and clinical trials for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center through its annual Cycle for Survival event. Over the last 12 years, she has led a team that has raised approximately $500,000. She and Patrick also aid under-resourced families in college-preparatory education and collegiate matriculation through the Cristo Rey High School in Boston.
Betsy said that she and Patrick were proud to be the first of what they hope will be many supporters of this new venture.
“We wanted a way to propel students forward, beyond what they would get from the classroom. By creating this endowment, we know Smeal undergraduate students will be making investments and enabling new business opportunities for their peers and others far into the future,” she said.
Clark said he is committed not just to growing the fund but also to making sure everyone who makes a gift to support the Propel Business Seed Fund is actively engaged with the Smeal community. Donors will receive a detailed, annual report and will be invited to join the Propel Business Advisory Network, a network of Smeal-affiliated entrepreneurs, corporate innovators, business leaders and service providers who serve as resources for the Smeal community.
“Developing an ecosystem of support, which includes sources of seed and venture funding, is particularly important to us. But it’s equally important that we are developing the educational programs that support students involved with the seed fund and that we identify and establish a pipeline of companies seeking early-stage funding,” Clark said. “We’re excited to have this take off.”
Patrick said he was impressed with how many great ideas and opportunities exist at Smeal that simply need a catalyst such as financing, insight or advice to help them launch.
“For anyone interested in leveraging their time, treasure or both, there are ample opportunities and vehicles to get involved and make a real difference,” he said. “As the fund gains momentum, Betsy and I are excited about the prospect of additional contributions from entrepreneurs whose experiences can provide a roadmap for students to propel their ideas far into the future.”
The Flanagans’ gift advances the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development; and increasing the University’s impact for students, families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.