Kendra Scott and the University of Texas at Austin are joining forces on a new female leadership program.
The Austin-based jewelry titan has given both her name and her money to the Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute at UT Austin, which was announced Sept. 24.
The institute is set to open in spring 2020, with a curriculum designed to increase the percentage of venture-backed companies founded by female entrepreneurs. The hope is that the program will create "a pipeline of courageous, creative female leaders who will change the world," according to an announcement from the jewelry company.
Kendra Scott founded her eponymous jewelry brand in 2002, going door-to-door to Austin businesses along with her newborn son, asking if they'd sell the jewelry she designed. In the years since, the business has exploded into a billion-dollar enterprise complete with a posh, 76,000-square-foot Austin headquarters, a 63,000-square-foot Austin warehouse for shipping and logistics, more than 100 Kendra Scott stores and a robust online operation.
Scott helped launched the WEL Institute with a $1 million personal donation. Kendra Scott LLC will also provide $500,000 annually for programming, according to the Austin American-Statesman, and will contribute 20% from sales from UT Longhorn charms to the institute. The University of Texas is making a $250,000 donation.
"Together with the University of Texas we are creating a program focused on redefining leadership and entrepreneurship through gender-enlightened lens," Scott, who is CEO of Kendra Scott LLC, said in a statement. "With this institute we want to create a pipeline of courageous, creative female leaders who will shatter stereotypes of what an entrepreneur should look like, and will challenge the rule books that have governed the business world for generations."
Programming at the new Kendra Scott WEL Institute is set to include a women's leadership workshop series, a women's leadership summit at UT featuring entrepreneurs and a Kendra Scott Fashion & Lifestyle Practicum at the UT's McCombs School of Business, along with internship programs, leadership training, mentorship, campus-wide funding opportunities and more.
This story was first published in the Austin Business Journal. Click here to see the rest of the story.
