The University of Arkansas has announced Phil Shellhammer as its new president. Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
“Few programs in our region have had the impact and growth that OEI has had on our entrepreneurship ecosystem over the past few years,” Shellhammer said. “I am honored to have been asked to lead OEI to the next stage.”
“OEI has a big year ahead of us. We are building on the success of our current program and creating opportunities for growth for our university, our community and the entire state of Arkansas.”
Shellhammer will succeed Sarah Goforth, who has led OEI since 2017. Friday’s UA News Release (May 3), she will assume a new position at UA, to be announced at a later date. Officials told the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal that Goforth’s new job is in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
Shellhamer joined the university three years ago to oversee OEI. Greenhouse outdoor recreation program (Golp).
GORP is located at the Collaborative in Bentonville. We help early-stage startups grow through workshops, mentorship, and other services.
Since launching GORP with four startups in spring 2022, 32 startups have scaled their businesses through our semi-annual cohort program. GORP has also supported over 300 entrepreneurs through workshops, networking events, one-on-one consulting, and access to co-working spaces.
In 2023, OEI received a $1.2 million grant Expanding the GORP program across the state We support founders developing innovative products and services within the outdoor recreation industry.
Shellhammer is a former merchandising executive at Sam’s Club. In 2019, he founded his two technology startups focused on education, Eksplor Gaming and his Wize Computing Academy of Northwest Arkansas.
