Berry College students will have the opportunity to elevate their entrepreneurial skills with the hiring of a director for the Center for Student Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development.

Kevin Renshler, who will begin Oct. 15, has an impressive background in working with students to advance skills in business, creativity and engagement. Most recently, Renshler was the associate director of MiddCORE and professor of practice at Middlebury College.

“Dr. Renshler brings a lot of experience to Berry, he has a real passion for working with students and he is very enthusiastic. I think he’s going to help us create a vibrate ecosystem for entrepreneurship at Berry and take our programs to the next level,” said Berry Professor of Management Paula Englis.

With a two-year plan in place, Renshler will work to improve the entrepreneurial development of students and revamp the start-up process for the Berry student-operated enterprises. Jersey Milk, Season’s Harvest and Viking Furniture are a few examples of the 15 student-operated enterprises.

“We already have some annual events such as the Entrepreneurial Pitch Competition, the Spark Conference, and the fall Enterprises Advisors’ Workshop that engage students and alumni,” Englis said. “Dr. Renshler had some great ideas about co-curricular activities that will engage students to help them develop an entrepreneurial mindset. I think we are going to see a lot more entrepreneurial activities open to students across campus.”

Other goals include establishing an advisory board, creating a practical personal and professional training program and raising funds for scholarship and venture capital needs of entrepreneur students.

Renshler has a doctorate in sport and exercise management with a focus in organizational behavior and theory from Ohio State University, a master’s degree in exercise and health science from Miami University (Ohio) and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Ohio State University. He also served as the head women’s volleyball coach at Kent State University, Northwestern University, and Auburn University, respectively.  He completed a post-doc in entrepreneurship at the University of Florida in 2009 and has served as a member of the graduate faculty at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) and Florida Southern College, the director of the Honors Program in Business at the University of South Florida, and dean of the business schools at Barton College (N.C.) and the University of Findlay (Ohio.)