Dr. Pamela L. Allison has been named the Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Allison moves from department chair of UMES’ hospitality and tourism management program into her new job Jan. 3. She joined the university faculty in July 2020.
“With an extensive background in business creation, development and public-private innovation, Dr. Allison is an excellent choice for this new position,” UMES President Heidi M. Anderson said.
In 2019, UMES leveraged a private donation to qualify for a $2 million grant from the Maryland Department of Commerce’s “E-Nnovation Initiative Fund,” which the state created to stimulate “basic and applied research in scientific and technical fields of study” at its colleges and universities. The program also supports entrepreneurship at Maryland institutions.
Allison will report to David Balcom, UMES’ vice president for university relations, who spearheaded the effort to create the fund in support of an endowed professorship to foster a new generation of entrepreneurs across the University’s broad-ranging programs.
“Students need a broad understanding of ‘… entrepreneurial thinking’ to strengthen their career aspirations,” Balcom said. “Many UMES students and faculty already have started businesses, or have ideas that need to be nurtured. This interdisciplinary effort could be transformative for our students and faculty.”
In addition to teaching responsibilities, Allison will be the point person to shepherd ideas that bubble up within the campus community, which might find success as a productive business or service.
Allison brings a background in education and business to the position. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida in 2009, taught at the college level for the past 15 years and also has been a higher education administrator since 2013.
She launched her most recent business venture four years ago. Living Fabulously Fluffy, LLC is the parent company of multiple brands in the bath and body product industry with a private-label manufacturing facility.
Marketed under the brands Bounce Back Baths and Fluffy Fizzies™, multiple large companies such as runDisney and Amazon sell her products.
“It’s time to create a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation for our students, faculty, alumni and the community we serve,” Allison said. “An integral step in this is establishing a UMES Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation,” which will follow in the months ahead.
Allison envisions the center serving as an innovation hub to draw attention to “groundbreaking work already taking place … across the university.”
“Much like a small startup business,” she said, “the (center’s) structure can pivot and grow with the needs of stakeholders. With a digital and physical presence, the new center will house resources for budding entrepreneurs, guiding from concept to market – addressing all phases of entrepreneurship.”
A key aspect, Allison said, is ensuring “entrepreneurs … have access to mentors, as well as technical skills related to legal matters, branding, franchising and the like. They also need assistance with start-up capital programming and shared resources.”
“We also plan to incubate new companies and serve as a place to accelerate the business development of promising ideas,” she said.
She said she’ll work to marshal the university’s “wealth of talent to assist with product development, product testing, workforce development and innovation. The center will build upon the strong foundation established over the years to bring entrepreneurship to the Eastern Shore.”
