School of Information Studies (iSchool) adjunct faculty member and Syracuse Student Sandbox director John Liddy was honored with the Campus Connector Award for his work creating campus-based startups.
The award, given at the Upstate Venture Ecosystem Awards luncheon on October 9, recognizes Liddy’s work in leveraging on and off-campus resources and connections to help students create startup companies and develop opportunities to retain entrepreneurial students.
In addition to his roles at the iSchool and the Student Sandbox, Liddy currently serves as Entrepreneur in Residence for the Syracuse Tech Garden, Le Moyne College, Cayuga Community College, and Mohawk Valley Community College helping these institutions advance student entrepreneurial activity and engagement through coursework and hands-on activities.
At the Syracuse Student Sandbox, Liddy oversees an experiential education program that has launched over 100 student companies and has created a mentor network of over 125 business professionals from the community.
Additionally, Liddy works with experienced community entrepreneurs. Over the last several years he has helped 45 of these companies create strategic growth plans through facilitation of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Emerging Leaders program in Syracuse.
The 2015 Upstate Venture Ecosystem Awards were organized by Upstate Venture Connect, a non-profit dedicated to creating an entrepreneur-led startup ecosystem for Upstate NY, and the Upstate Venture Association of New York, an organization formed to advance venture capital and private equity investments throughout the region.