On °Ä²Ê¿ª½± Day, Friday, April 13, at 6 p.m., the university will kick off Entrepreneur Weekend with a public talk by Sir Richard Branson, one of the world’s best-known entrepreneurs. Free tickets may be reserved online and picked up the day of the event at the °Ä²Ê¿ª½± Bookstore or the will call window at Sanford Field House.
As founder and chairman of the Virgin Group, Branson has interest in 200 companies in more than 30 countries. He also is a trustee of several charities, including the Virgin Healthcare Foundation, and Virgin Unite, which fights malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. And he is an avid adventurer who has broken world records via hot-air balloon and boat. His company Virgin Galactic is the world’s first commercial space tourism business.
In 1999 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his “services to entrepreneurship.â€
His visit is part of the Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at °Ä²Ê¿ª½±, sponsored by the university’s Parents’ and Grandparents’ Fund. Previous guests have included President Bill Clinton; Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain; Colin Powell, former U.S. secretary of state; and the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.
Entrepreneur Weekend will continue through Saturday with presentations from students who have participated in °Ä²Ê¿ª½±â€™s Thought into Action Institute. Festivities will come to a close on Sunday with , a 5K and half-marathon fundraiser to support Madison County Habitat for Humanity.