Tomé gift Empowers DU Students’ Entrepreneurial Innovation
Students studying entrepreneurship at DU will have more opportunities to pursue their dreams of innovation, thanks to a recent gift from the Tomé Foundation. Led by Carol (MBA ’81, Hon. PhD ’18) and Ramon Tomé, the Foundation has a long history of investing in student success at DU. Their investment in scholarships and other student support continues to provide the resources for Daniels students to thrive and to prepare for successful careers.
The Tomé Foundation’s most recent gift to Entrepreneurship@DU will increase opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship at DU and the Daniels College of Business. It will support both curricular and extracurricular innovation in E@DU – including microgrants to test and validate innovations, the Summer BASE Camp student accelerator, the 4impact Challenge, and the Garage: a makerspace for innovation, collaboration, entrepreneurial growth, testing and prototyping.
“Anyone graduating into today’s business world needs to have strong entrepreneurial skills,” said Naomi Boyd, dean of the Daniels College of Business. “This generous gift allows us to support our students financially, programmatically and professionally as they grow into agile, critical problem solvers. I am grateful to the Tomés for their commitment to education and innovation.”
Joshua Ross is the director of Entrepreneurship@DU, based in the Daniels College of Business. “The Tomé gift allows us to expand entrepreneurship and innovation, giving our students the support they need to develop ideas, solve problems, and create valuable products and services. This gift has a lasting impact, as the skills they gain in our program serve as a strong foundation for their careers and life beyond DU.”
Elements such as one-day, one-credit Sprint courses and entrepreneurial-focused travel to Israel, Turkey, and other countries provide innovative and experiential approaches to learning for E@DU students. Students also learn practical skills like critical thinking that will be vital to their future careers. Because the Tomé gift is to be used immediately, its long-term impact will help catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship, both as part of DU’s identity and in providing students with the skills and tools they will need from day one of their working careers. In promoting holistic student success, the Foundation’s gift also advances DU’s 4D Experience objective of helping students create lives and careers of meaning and purpose.
“Thanks to Carol and Ramon Tomé’s visionary generosity, DU students will have new opportunities to innovate,” says Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. “Their investment advances one of the priorities of The Denver Difference campaign: a holistic educational experience that prepares our students for successful lives beyond graduation. We are deeply grateful for their gift to entrepreneurship that will make countless entrepreneurial ventures a reality.”
Carol and Ramon Tomé’s commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship reflects some of the hallmarks of Carol Tome’s distinguished career, especially as CFO and executive vice president of Home Depot and, currently, CEO of UPS. Tomé joined UPS just when COVID hit and the company faced unprecedented demands as more and more people ordered online. It was her championing of innovation that enabled UPS to successfully deliver over a billion vaccines in 110 countries, including deliveries to nations such as Rwanda via drone.
That commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship and their resulting corporate success has brought Tomé widespread recognition, including by Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine.
The Tomé Foundation’s gift to DU mirrors the commitment to innovation that is so evident in her career. “Innovation and entrepreneurship involve investing in people and technology, and creating an environment for creativity,” says Carol Tomé, perfectly describing what the Tomé Foundation’s gift to DU will achieve both now and in the years to come.
Find out how your gift to Entrepreneurship@DU can make a difference for students pursuing innovation and entrepreneurship. Contact Tim Flaherty at timothy.flaherty@du.edu or Shira Moffatt at shira.moffatt@du.edu for more information.
