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The University of Connecticut is opposing legislation designed to make it more entrepreneurial, saying it goes too far in promoting a narrow definition of the institution, The Hartford Courant reported. University officials said that they support the idea of promoting research and activities that help economic development -- and they already have many programs to do just that. But the bill changes the university's official mission to focus on those areas and requires that four members of the UConn board have experience in entrepreneurship, that two of them be under 40, and that future UConn presidents have experience in entrepreneurship.
Susan Herbst, UConn's president, told legislators that the bill would hinder the goals of its sponsors. "Ironically, you wouldn’t even attract faculty entrepreneurs, as they hate intellectually narrow places without artists, music, pure chemists, social workers, public health experts -- the very folks who give them ideas for inventions, since invention is fundamentally about solving problems in the world for human beings," she said.