Laura Stanley aims to turn UNC Charlotte’s entrepreneurship research into real-world opportunities for students

As the first director of UNC Charlotte’s RA Session II School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Laura Stanley sees an opportunity to bring the University’s internationally recognized entrepreneurship research into the classroom and help students turn ideas into action.

A former auditor and consultant who now studies how entrepreneurs think and succeed, Stanley wants students to develop more than business plans. She hopes to equip them with the judgment, resilience and practical experience to launch ventures, grow family businesses and drive change within existing organizations.

In this Q&A, Stanley discusses her vision for the school, the value of Charlotte’s business community and how the investment behind the initiative could expand opportunities for students.

How have your experiences in consulting and accounting shaped the work you do today?

I began my career in business. My work as an auditor at Deloitte and Arthur Andersen, and later as a compensation consultant at Aon Consulting, taught me the building blocks of organizations — strong accounting and human resources systems — but also that organizations succeed or struggle because of people: what motivates them, how they feel about their work and how they make decisions.

Auditing gave me a disciplined respect for how businesses actually work. Audit work exposes you to a wide range of companies, so you learn what well-run and poorly run organizations look like. Many startups fail because they run out of cash or misread their numbers, not because the idea was bad.

Consulting taught me to turn ideas into something a client would value and pay for. Both lessons shape my work today, and I want both in this school: rigorous thinking and practical results.

What initially drew you to this new leadership role, and what excites you most about the opportunity to help shape something from the ground up?

Leading the school is an honor, and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity. I look forward to collaborating with students, faculty, staff, Founder RA Sessions II and Dean Buttimer as we build the school. I spent much of my career studying entrepreneurs: how they think, what keeps them going and what helps them succeed. Building a new school is an entrepreneurial venture in its own right, and this is an opportunity to put that research into practice.

What drew me to this role is the chance to build on the world-class research our faculty already produce. UNC Charlotte ranks among the most productive institutions in the world in entrepreneurship and family business research. I want to bring that knowledge into the classroom so students learn from the people creating it.

I’m also excited about helping students put that knowledge to work in experiential exercises with the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, where they can test ideas, work alongside entrepreneurs and industry partners and learn by doing.

As the first director, you have an opportunity to help define the school’s identity and direction. What is the vision you hope to establish, and what do you want it to be known for?

I want the school to be known for developing entrepreneurial people, not generic business plans. In my entrepreneurship class, we spend a lot of time talking about entrepreneurial passion and how to turn that passion into a successful business. Students should leave with the mindset, resilience and judgment to create a startup that is an expression of their passion and identity.

I also want students to learn by doing — testing ideas, learning from setbacks and connecting with experienced entrepreneurs who can help them move forward. Ultimately, I hope they use what they learn to build businesses that solve problems and improve lives.

The Belk College is already recognized internationally for entrepreneurship and family business research. I want the school to build on that and become known for teaching grounded in evidence. Students today are flooded with entrepreneurship advice from podcasts, social media and AI tools, and much of it is anecdotal, untested or simply wrong. Our research faculty publish in the field’s top peer-reviewed journals, and that work tells us what actually helps entrepreneurs succeed and why. When students learn from the people producing high-level, peer-reviewed research, they learn to ask better questions and make evidence-based decisions in an uncertain environment.

By combining research with hands-on experience and mentorship, we can help students move from developing an idea to bringing it to market. In a world overloaded with information, discernment may be the most valuable thing we teach.

Why is now the right time for UNC Charlotte to establish a School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation? What needs or opportunities will it address?

Careers are changing quickly, and students need to be able to spot opportunities, adapt and create their own paths, whether within an existing organization or through their own startups. At the same time, Charlotte’s economy and startup community are growing.

UNC Charlotte also has a foundation few universities can match. In TCU’s Global University Entrepreneurship Productivity Rankings, which tracked 350 programs worldwide, the Belk College ranked among the top 10 for research in the field’s premier journals. We ranked fifth globally in Texas State University’s Family Business Research Productivity Ranking, and recent studies of the field place UNC Charlotte second among all institutions publishing family business research. A dedicated school lets us bring that expertise into the classroom, give students a clear home for entrepreneurship and give the region a partner for developing talent and new ventures.

Charlotte has a growing entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. How can UNC Charlotte use its location to give students experiences and connections they might not get elsewhere?

We’re in a major business center with a strong base of established companies, startups and family businesses. That lets students work on real projects, find mentors, do internships and pitch to investors and business leaders, all within reach of campus. Our family business expertise is a particular asset here because family firms make up a large part of the regional economy. I’d like the school to make that kind of engagement a regular part of the student experience.

We are fortunate to have the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), located in uptown Charlotte, which will now live in the RA Session II School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. CEI’s programming, including pitch competitions and workshops, gives students a place to apply what they learn in our academic programs. Faculty bring evidence about what actually helps entrepreneurs succeed, and these activities let students test ideas, take feedback and learn from setbacks in real entrepreneurial settings.

The school will also connect students with resources and expertise across the University, including the Honeywell Innovation Hub, PORTAL and the Office of Research Translation and Industry Alliances. Through partnerships with organizations such as the Small Business and Technology Development Center, we can extend that support to entrepreneurs throughout the community. These connections will help students collaborate with researchers and industry partners, explore commercial opportunities and turn promising ideas into solutions to real-world challenges.

What does this investment mean for UNC Charlotte and its ability to prepare students to become entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders?

It says the University is committed to entrepreneurship as a core part of what we offer students. Our faculty are already among the most productive entrepreneurship and family business researchers in the world. I am grateful for this generous gift from RA Session, as the School gives us the structure and visibility to turn that strength into more courses, more experiential learning, stronger faculty recruitment and partnerships that individual programs couldn’t sustain alone. For students, that means more pathways into entrepreneurship, more hands-on opportunities and stronger connections to the people who can help them launch and grow.

When students graduate from UNC Charlotte, what do you hope they will be able to do, think about or approach differently because of their experience with the school?

I encourage them to think deeply about their passion because that’s what makes each entrepreneur unique. I hope they see problems as opportunities and feel confident acting on them so they can turn their passion into a successful business. That means testing an idea, learning from setbacks and adjusting instead of waiting for a perfect plan. Whether they start a company, grow a family business or lead change inside an organization, I want them to think and act like entrepreneurs.