Lynnette Claire

Professor Lynnette Claire thinks entrepreneurially—and brings this entrepreneurial perspective and energy to all her work, from the classroom to the community to the university. She believes in making a difference and that making a difference requires thinking in new ways. 

Before she knew the term “experiential learning”, she practiced it and saw the benefits for her students and the community. Nearly all of her classes involve students doing--in addition to being and thinking. The high-impact practice of experiential learning enables her to push her students beyond their comfort zones and their habitual thinking while advancing local organizations.

Professor Claire has developed strong pedagogy in entrepreneurial thinking and opportunity recognition as well as early stage entrepreneurship, arts entrepreneurship, and social entrepreneurship. Lynnette is on sabbatical for the 2018-19 academic year, studying how question-asking is related to entrepreneurial progress.

Professor Claire’s Strategic Management and Consulting senior research seminar returns in fall 2019 (BUS482). This strategic consulting class works with small businesses, non-profits and government in the Tacoma area. Teams of three students work for three full months to develop a professional strategic plan. Potential client organizations may learn more and indicate interest at this link. 

Professor Claire’s Entrepreneurial Mindset for the Arts course (BUS380) also returns in fall 2019. In this course, students learn how to think entrepreneurially and apply that thinking to an audience-building-related topic in a local arts organization. The final product is a feasibility study. Local arts organizations may learn more and register for consideration at this link.

In spring 2020, Professor Claire will teach Principles of Management (BUS305), which teaches students the foundational concepts of management, both strategy and organizational behavior.

Other courses Professor Claire teaches are Entrepreneurship (BUS440-most spring terms) and Social Entrepreneurship (BUS442-alternates fall terms with BUS380). In Entrepreneurship (BUS440), students improve their ability to recognize opportunities. They also start a (very small) business, job shadow a local entrepreneur and make a short documentary about him or her (http://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/entrepreneurshipfilmfestival), and write a full business plan. Social entrepreneurship refers to innovative mission-driven (rather than profit-driven) organizations. The business model—and innovating within it—is the focus of Social Entrepreneurship (BUS442). Each student chooses a social sector of his or her choosing to examine through a series of 10 assignments, ranging from traditional scholarly research to personal interviews to a public poster session. The assignments build on each other and enable each student to explore the subject in the local, national and international environments. The class also chooses a cause to create some sort of hands-on innovation around.

Professor Claire founded the Entrepreneurship Club at Puget Sound and the Tacoma Entrepreneur Network. She will return to these efforts in fall 2019. She is a founding member of Pacific Northwest Educators of Entrepreneurial Leaders (PNWEEL), which provides professional support to educators and opportunities for entrepreneurial students to strengthen their skills. PNWEEL currently has grant funding from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation. She will return to her role as Director of the School of Business and Leadership in fall 2019.