July 23, 2026
The Flemming Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation has received a $48,000 grant from the Educating Character Initiative (ECI) at Wake Forest University’s Program for Leadership and Character, with additional support from Lilly Endowment Inc.
The funding will support the Fellows Uplifting Entrepreneurs Locally (F.U.E.L.) program, which integrates character formation with entrepreneurship to prepare students to lead with integrity, purpose, and civic responsibility.
F.U.E.L. is guided by the question of how entrepreneurial qualities can be “anchored in moral purpose and civic responsibility,” said Flemming Center Director Dr. Michele King.
“Entrepreneurship gives us a laboratory for building and developing character. Students are going to face ambiguity, make decisions, take risks, receive feedback, and sometimes get it wrong,” said King. “The question is not simply whether or not you can solve the problem, but rather who are you becoming as you solve it?”
Through workshops, mentorship, community partnerships, and hands-on projects, F.U.E.L. helps students develop entrepreneurial skills alongside discernment, resilience, creativity, and ethical leadership needed to create lasting social and economic impact.
Students will collaborate with local entrepreneurs, develop real-world case studies, practice human-centered design, and engage in rapid prototyping—including the LEGO® Serious Play® methodology—to strengthen creativity, collaboration, and principled decision-making. The program also incorporates coursework focused on design thinking, entrepreneurial theory, methods, and practice.
Through its Character and Community Impact Showcase, F.U.E.L. will offer students the opportunity to display their ideas and solutions. This signature event will feature storytelling and pitch-style presentations that focus on character and community development. It is scheduled for the spring and is open to the public.
“This project beautifully connects Hampden-Sydney’s mission of character formation with entrepreneurial practice, demonstrating that principled entrepreneurship is driven by good citizenship,” said Ivo Gyurovski ’09, associate dean for grants and faculty development. “By combining innovation with civic responsibility, students learn to create value while strengthening their communities.”
With this funding, F.U.E.L. will expand opportunities for Hampden-Sydney students to explore entrepreneurship as a pathway for personal growth, ethical leadership, and community impact through real-world problem-solving. Students will develop the knowledge, skills, and virtues needed to build ventures and initiatives that create lasting value for both the marketplace and society.