Courtesy of GSU Communications
Grambling State University has been awarded a $1.6 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) through the Parren J. Mitchell Entrepreneurship Education Program to expand entrepreneurship education and help students and community entrepreneurs move promising ideas toward viable businesses and commercialization.
The two-year project, ASCEND: Advancing Stage-Gated Commercialization and Entrepreneurship through a Network for Development, will be led by Dr. Derrick V. Warren, Dean of the Thomas & Joyce Moorehead College of Business & Entrepreneurship, who will serve as Principal Investigator.
The $1.6 million award is the largest federal grant received by the Thomas & Joyce Moorehead College of Business & Entrepreneurship to date.
ASCEND will establish a Business Optimization and Intellectual Property Intake Hub at Grambling State, creating a structured pathway for participants to develop, evaluate and strengthen business concepts. Faculty mentors and business advisers will help participants assess market demand, develop business and financial strategies, and determine whether their concepts are ready to advance toward commercialization.
“This investment will give our students and aspiring entrepreneurs greater access to the expertise and resources needed to move an idea from concept to market,” said Grambling State University President Martin Lemelle, Jr. “It also strengthens Grambling State University’s ability to develop talent, support new businesses and build partnerships that contribute to economic growth across our region. We are pleased to work alongside the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to expand these opportunities for our students and communities.”
Participants whose business concepts successfully complete the program’s readiness process will have access to advanced fabrication and commercialization resources at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, including support through its Office of Innovation Management. Participants may receive assistance with prototyping, technology transfer, intellectual property development and other activities needed to prepare products and technologies for the marketplace.
“ASCEND gives entrepreneurs a defined process for taking an idea and determining what it will take to build a viable business around it,” Warren said. “Participants will examine their markets, test assumptions, strengthen their business and financial plans, and connect with specialized resources as their ventures progress. The goal is to give students and community entrepreneurs practical support at each stage of development.”
Warren also credited Dr. Augustine Dzathor, Entrepreneur-in-Residence Kimberly Penn, Dr. Gaurav Sood and Dr. Terence Bradford, along with other Grambling State faculty and staff, for their work in securing the grant and their roles in the project’s implementation.
“This award was a team effort, and I am grateful to the faculty and staff whose expertise and commitment helped bring ASCEND to Grambling State University,” Warren said. “Their continued involvement will be important as we put the program into action and begin working with students and entrepreneurs.”
Over the two-year project period, ASCEND aims to:
• Enroll 350 students in entrepreneurship education and innovation activities;
• Support 270 participants through successful program completion;
• Facilitate the creation of 18 new businesses;
• Support the creation of 35 new jobs; and
• Strengthen pathways for intellectual property development, technology transfer and commercialization.
The project will bring together faculty expertise in entrepreneurship, innovation management, business development and community engagement while giving students opportunities to work in areas that extend beyond traditional classroom instruction.
“This grant strengthens Grambling State University’s research and sponsored programs enterprise while creating valuable hands-on opportunities for our students,” said Theodore Callier, Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs. “Connecting entrepreneurship with intellectual property and commercialization gives students direct experience with how ideas are developed, evaluated and moved toward the marketplace while also supporting workforce and economic development throughout the region.”
The Parren J. Mitchell Entrepreneurship Education Program supports practical, evidence-based entrepreneurship education designed to strengthen skills in areas such as business and financial management, market analysis, innovation, strategic planning, technology adoption and commercialization.
For Grambling State, ASCEND will build on existing entrepreneurship and innovation efforts within the Thomas & Joyce Moorehead College of Business and Entrepreneurship while expanding access to resources for entrepreneurs beyond the University.
The ASCEND at Grambling State University project began in October 2026 and will continue through September 2028.
