May 16, 2012
Global leadership: University's Trevor McKeeman selected as 2013 MIT Sloan Fellow
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
Kansas State University's Trevor McKeeman has been selected for the 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership.
McKeeman currently works as the director of business development for the K-State Institute for Commercialization and Mid-America Technology Management Inc. His selection for the prestigious fellowship supports the university's goal of becoming a top 50 public university by 2025.
McKeeman will join 121 Sloan fellows from 31 countries to comprise a class of demonstrated leaders in business, government, academic, engineering, science and entrepreneurial fields.
"K-State and Manhattan have people that compete and collaborate with peers at a global level on a regular basis," he said. "I feel honored to be a small part of the extensive reach of this community."
As a fellow, McKeeman will earn his master's in business administration by participating in the one-year executive business, innovation and leadership program at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Mass.
McKeeman will focus on the areas of new ventures and startup companies, technology commercialization, entrepreneurial finance, corporate leadership and global markets for technology.
He plans to return to the university at the end of the program with increased access to a portfolio of startup companies, global business contacts and new technology opportunities.
"I simply would not have this opportunity without the strong leadership at Kansas State University and its Institute for Commercialization," he said. "They have created an environment where great projects are possible."
McKeeman's current role at Kansas State University involves the development of startup companies, commercialization of intellectual property or new technologies, and other entrepreneurial ventures.
He is also the co-founder and vice president of Sunflower Integrated Bioenergy LLC -- a 2006 joint venture between Mid-America Technology Management and Sunflower Electric Power Corporation. McKeeman also co-initiated the Carbon X Prize project, a multimillion dollar international prize competition to identify radical new technologies that transform CO2 from power plants into products with value.
McKeeman earned his bachelor's in business administration, with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, from K-State in 2000. His wife, Leah McKeeman, is an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction.