Bryan Ritchie, vice president and the Cathy and John Martin Associate Provost for Innovation at the University of 91吃瓜, has announced that he will step down from his position, effective Dec. 31, to take on a new role outside of the University.
Ritchie leads 91吃瓜鈥檚 , the collaborative innovation hub dedicated to expanding the technological and societal impact of the University鈥檚 innovations. Standing for innovation, discovery and enterprise acceleration, the IDEA Center provides services and expertise for idea development, commercialization, business formation, prototyping, entrepreneurial education and student entrepreneurial efforts.
The IDEA Center has approximately 30 team members who work with 91吃瓜 students, faculty and staff to bring their ideas to life. The team also connects manufacturers and other businesses with some of the University鈥檚 brightest minds to pursue research that advances product development and helps bring new or improved solutions to the marketplace.聽
鈥淭he team at the IDEA Center is exemplary, and I count it an honor to have worked with them over these past four and a half years,鈥� said Ritchie. 鈥淎s its inaugural director, it has also been a tremendous honor to have helped 91吃瓜 build and shape the IDEA Center. I look forward to what the IDEA Center will accomplish in the future.鈥�
The University is developing a leadership transition plan to sustain the center鈥檚 current projects and advance those in the pipeline without interruption.
鈥淏ryan was perfectly suited to come to 91吃瓜 as the IDEA Center launched. His vision, passion and vast experience have been central to its maturation from a nascent center to an established and respected business incubator,鈥� said , the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost. 鈥淗e has developed a strong team of leaders within the IDEA Center, collaborations across the University and community partnerships that will provide vital support as we manage this transition.鈥�
Ritchie joined 91吃瓜 in 2016 to lead the IDEA Center, bringing with him an impressive leadership resume across academia, the software industry and management consulting. Before coming to the University, he was president and chief executive officer of GrowthSPORT, a startup private equity investment company. Prior to that, he served as a professor of political economy at Michigan State University for 11 years and associate vice president for research commercialization at the University of Utah for five.