Source: Byron Jones, 785-532-5844, jones@k-state.edu
Photo available. Download at http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/feb11/dixon.jpg
News release prepared by: Mary Rankin, 785-6715, mrankin@k-state.edu

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011

VENTURE CAPITALIST DIXON DOLL TO DELIVER COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING EYESTONE LECTURE

MANHATTAN -- Dixon Doll, the noted venture capitalist who has guided entrepreneurs, investors and executives in the computer and communications industries for more than 35 years, will present the annual Eyestone Lecture for Kansas State University's College of Engineering.

Doll's lecture, "The Critical Role of Venture Capital in Fueling Innovation," is 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, in Fiedler Hall Auditorium. Following his address, April Mason, K-State provost and senior vice president, will facilitate an audience question-and-answer session. The presentations are open to the public.

The co-founder and general partner of the venture capital firm DCM, Doll has been recognized for his accomplishments in venture capital by Forbes Magazine, who named him one of the top 100 venture investors on its Midas List for four years in a row. In April 2005 he was elected to the board of directors of the National Venture Capital Association in Washington, D.C. He also served as the association's chair from 2008 to 2009 and as a member of its executive committee from 2007 to 2009.

Doll has led DCM's investments in About.com, acquired by The New York Times Co.; @Motion, acquired by Openwave; Clearwire; Foundry Networks; Internap; Ipivot, acquired by Intel; and Neutral Tandem, among others.

In the mid-1980s Doll co-founded the venture capital industry's first fund focused exclusively on telecommunications opportunities. Those funds launched such noteworthy companies as Alantec, Bridge Communication, Centillion Networks, Network Equipment Technologies, Optilink, Picturetel, Polycom and UUNet.

Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Doll was founder and CEO of an internationally recognized strategic consulting firm focused on telecommunications and computer networking. From 1972 to 1980 he also served as a faculty member of the IBM Systems Research Institute in New York City. He authored the seminal text Data Communications, published by John Wiley and Sons Inc. in 1978.

Doll has traveled extensively to six continents to give lectures and conference presentations. Through their family foundation, he and his wife, Carol, give generously to numerous educational and philanthropic organizations, including the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, where he serves as chair of the museum's dual governing boards; the San Francisco Symphony; K-State; and the University of Michigan Business School.

Doll holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from K-State. He earned his doctorate and master's degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, where he was a National Science Foundation Scholar.

The Eyestone Lecture Series, established in 2000, is funded by an endowment of the late Fred and Mona Eyestone. Fred Eyestone, a 1941 K-State graduate in electrical engineering, was a member of the College of Engineering Advisory Council and a Distinguished Service Award recipient.