Arlen Meyers ’68

Metzger-Conway Fellow gives lessons on entrepreneurship

February 7, 2011

Arlen Meyers ’68

Arlen Meyers ’68 is professor of otolaryngology, dentistry and engineering at the University of Colorado-Denver, but what gets him truly excited is the idea of the entrepreneurial university.

“Universities are in a unique position to solve the world’s big problems,” he says. “The way you can do that is to graduate students who can see and solve those problems.”

The former biology major, who earned his M.D. at Jefferson Medical College and an MBA at the University of Colorado, is an international expert on the intersection of bioscience and entrepreneurship. Meyers is founding president and CEO of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs and founding director of the combined M.D.–MBA program at the University of Colorado-Denver.

In 2010, he garnered a prestigious Fulbright Specialists Award to study bioscience business development and education initiatives at Kings College in London.

Having also built three companies, Meyers is returning to Dickinson as a 2011 Metzger-Conway Fellow to discuss how colleges and universities can engender an entrepreneurial attitude.

“Every student, not just those with technology backgrounds, should graduate with an entrepreneurial mindset,” he says. “It doesn’t mean you have to start a company or invent something. The point is to create value and add something to society.”