Fred McKinney of Trumbull has been named the Carlton Highsmith Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University.

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Caption: Fred McKinney of Trumbull has been named the Carlton Highsmith Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University.

Fred McKinney of Trumbull named the Carlton Highsmith Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University

Hamden, Connecticut – Sept. 21, 2018 – Fred McKinney of Trumbull has been named the Carlton Highsmith Chair of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University.

“The challenge that all universities have is that you have to be relevant and you have to continue to be innovative and develop relationships,” McKinney said. “This is going to be a solid challenge that I am extremely excited about. At this point in my career, I really want to be more engaged in a specific academic community. The opportunity to come in and make an impact will be fun and rewarding for all Quinnipiac University stakeholders.”

In addition to teaching students at Quinnipiac, McKinney will be responsible for the People’s United Bank Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University.

“I have several ideas that I envision happening with the center,” he said. “I see the center being a transformative place where students, staff and faculty can work and develop entrepreneurial ideas that ultimately go to market.”

Matt O’Connor, dean of the School of Business at Quinnipiac, said McKinney brings a wealth of business and academic experience to his new appointments. 

“He will provide tremendous help and support to our entrepreneurship students as well as all members of the university interested in innovation and business development,” O’Connor said. “McKinney also bring this knowledge, support and enthusiasm to the external community.  We are truly excited to have him joining the Quinnipiac community.”

McKinney added that he hopes to use his vast corporate connections to develop advisory councils and to form partnerships with the university.

“Innovation often comes from the outside,” he said. “I see the center and our students as being the outside source of innovation and entrepreneurship that corporations –– locally, regionally and eventually nationally –– will rely upon.”

‘Fred McKinney is a recognized thought leader in entrepreneurship and business education,” said Carlton Highsmith, vice chairman of the Quinnipiac University Board of Trustees, who established the chair in 2012 with a $1 million gift. “He brings exceptional expertise to Quinnipiac University, along with a proven track record of forging innovative and collaborative partnerships across a broad and diverse network of constituencies.”

McKinney earned his doctorate in economics from Yale University. He also has a bachelor's degree from UCLA.

While pursuing his doctoral degree, McKinney spent two summers at the Rand Corporation on domestic economic policy and one year in Washington, D.C., on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.  His work at Rand and at the White House helped him focus his graduate school research on national health policy.

McKinney was a tenure track assistant professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Advanced Studies in Social Policy. In 1987, he became an economics professor in the MBA and executive MBA programs at the University of Connecticut School of Business. 

While at UConn, McKinney and a friend started Jamaica Gourmet Coffee, a wholesale gourmet coffee company in New Haven. The business grew from a start-up that only included the two founders to a company that employed 20 workers and served over 200 grocery stores and restaurants throughout the Northeast.  

Jamaica Gourmet Coffee continues to operate today.  In 1999, McKinney left Jamaica Gourmet Coffee and started a new company, Advanced Dispensing Systems, a business based on a U.S. patent he was awarded for a system of dispensing whole bean coffee in a retail environment. 

 In 2001, McKinney became President and CEO of the Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council (CMSDC).  During his tenure, McKinney and his team executed two nonprofit acquisitions, raised millions of dollars in public and private foundation support, grew the Council’s staff and expanded to become the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council, which operated Minority Business Development Agency Centers in Boston and Bridgeport. 

In April 2015, McKinney became the managing director of minority business programs at Dartmouth University’s Tuck School of Business. 

McKinney has published four books on minority supplier development and corporate supplier diversity.  In addition, he has had over 100 articles published in the minority business press and received numerous awards and recognitions over his career for his work and dedication to minority business development, including the 2017 Ronald Brown Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. That award was inspired by the late U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Ronald Brown, and recognizes individuals who have achieved significant results in creating diversity, expanded minority business enterprise and demonstrated exceptional leadership in the public or private sector. 

McKinney has also served on numerous for-profit and not-for profit boards in leadership positions, including the Gateway Community College Foundation, Yale New Haven Health Care’s Bridgeport Hospital, The American Automobile Association of Connecticut, Habitat for Humanity, The Community’s Bank and The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Community Advisory Committee. 

McKinney and his wife, Ivy, have two children, Dana and Warren. 

About Quinnipiac UniversityQuinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 7,000 full-time undergraduate and 3,000 graduate and part-time students in 110 degree programs through its Schools of Business, Communications, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law, Medicine, Nursing and theCollege of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” issue. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s “The Best 381 Colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the “Great Colleges to Work For.” For more information, please visit qu.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at facebook.com/quinnipiacunews and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.