Howard A. Tullman
Named First Executive Director of Kaplan Institute
Chicago – April 16, 2018 – Illinois Institute of Technology announced today that Chicago serial entrepreneur
and former 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman will be the first executive director for
the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship.
Set to open this
fall, the Kaplan Institute will be a hub for discovery, innovation, and
business creation, giving students the skills and experience needed to make
their innovations viable for the market. The institute will be located in a new
two-story, 70,000-square-foot building designed by John Ronan Architects and will
be the first new academic building on Illinois Tech’s main campus in more than
40 years.
“Howard’s
extraordinary success in business and at 1871 makes him the perfect person to
launch the Kaplan Institute,” said Illinois Tech President Alan Cramb. “The
goal of the institute is clear: to bring the promise of entrepreneurship and
innovation to every student at Illinois Tech. Howard will spearhead that effort
and make sure our students have the resources and support needed to invent, create,
and launch new companies.”
Tullman will begin
as executive director on May 1 and will be responsible for leading the Kaplan Institute
to achieve the following goals: ensuring all undergraduate students acquire
superior innovation and entrepreneurship skills and experience; building strong
partnerships with external organizations and entrepreneurs; helping recruit
creative students interested in STEAM fields; and providing the tools and skills
students need to solve complex and significant challenges.
“For more than 120
years, Illinois Tech has been an engine of opportunity here in Chicago and
around the world,” Tullman said. “I took my first computer class at the
university in 1963—more than half a century ago. It’s an honor to join Illinois
Tech as a university professor and as the executive director of the institute as
it sets out to make innovation and entrepreneurial creativity an essential part
of every student’s education. I look forward to building an institute that will
be the first of its kind: an innovation hub that channels the technical
training and the creativity of thousands of Illinois Tech students into the
development of new products, services, and businesses that can change the
world.”
With multiple successful startups to his name, Tullman is
uniquely positioned to launch another center of innovation and entrepreneurship
in Chicago focused on supporting and empowering students about to enter or
re-enter the working world. Over the last 50 years, he has successfully founded
more than a dozen high-tech companies. Most recently, he led Chicago-based 1871,
which was just named the top university-affiliated business incubator in the
world. He is also general managing
partner of Chicago High Tech Investment Partners and G2T3V, LLC, both
Chicago-based early-stage venture capital funds.
“Howard Tullman has dedicated his career to fueling
Chicago’s tech sector and supporting start-ups across our city,” said Mayor
Rahm Emanuel. “In his new role at the Kaplan Institute, Howard will work with
the next generation of entrepreneurs, sharing the skills he has learned
throughout his life and preparing them to take Chicago’s economy to new
heights.”
Before serving at 1871, he most recently was the chairman
and CEO of Tribeca Flashpoint College, which he co-founded in 2007. Tullman is
the former president of Kendall College and the former chairman and CEO of
Experiencia, Inc. Tullman is also a member of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s ChicagoNEXT council,
the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Cultural Advisory Council, the Illinois Arts Council and Cook County Board
President Toni Preckwinkle’s New Media Council.
Tullman is a graduate with honors of Northwestern University
(B.A., 1967) and of its School of Law (J.D., 1970), where he also graduated
with honors. He will serve as the commencement speaker for Illinois Tech’s 2017–18
Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 12, 2018.
ABOUT ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY: Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, is a
private, technology-focused research university, located in Chicago, offering
undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture,
business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law. One of 21
institutions that comprise the Association of Independent Technological
Universities (AITU), Illinois Tech offers exceptional preparation for
professions that require technological sophistication, an innovative mindset,
and an entrepreneurial spirit. Visit www.iit.edu.
