John McCarrie, director of the Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of North Texas, presented the center’s work to the Economic Development Partnership Board on Oct. 8 and outlined programs aimed at commercializing university research and supporting startups.

McCarrie said the center provides mentoring, capital connections and talent access for startups, noting two company exits from center-supported firms and roughly $8 million in funding accessed by companies the center has supported. “So the really, the bulk of what we spend our time with, is actually working with startups,” McCarrie said, adding the center averages about 80 mentorships annually and runs student pitch competitions that award about $70,000 a year.

McCarrie described two education programs — STEM Startups (a business crash course for STEM students) and Angel Academy (training for early-stage investors) — and a recently launched Faculty Innovation Network to improve cross-disciplinary collaboration and drive research toward commercialization. He said the center’s advisory board is being reorganized into industry verticals (life sciences, entertainment, advanced materials and energy, deep tech) so advisory members with industry experience can actively mentor faculty and students and align research with market need.

McCarrie discussed progress since his 2018 arrival: embedding the center within industry-facing university priorities, building partnerships with regional economic development entities, and developing programs to accelerate faculty-led commercialization. He said university changes — including new faculty recruitment in biomedical engineering and modified tenure expectations in some units — helped accelerate commercialization activity.

McCarrie said the Murphy Center, in partnership with university and local stakeholders, hopes to better align research areas to create startups that will require local talent and facilities that could expand in Denton.