The Ewing Marion Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in Entrepreneurship

As a tribute to Ewing Marion Kauffman and his entrepreneurial work, the Kauffman Foundation established the Ewing Marion Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in Entrepreneurship in 2005 to inspire promising young scholars to contribute new insight into the field of entrepreneurship.

Originally presented every other year, with the increase in the quality and quantity of entrepreneurship research over the past decade, the Kauffman Prize Medal was awarded annually starting in 2011. The final Medal was awarded in 2017.

The Medal, which included a $50,000 prize, was awarded to one scholar early into his or her career as an associate or full professor whose research made a significant contribution to the literature in entrepreneurship. The Kauffman Prize was judged by an independent panel of senior scholars from the field.

The Kauffman Prize Medal depicts entrepreneur, humanitarian, and Kauffman Foundation founder Ewing Marion Kauffman (1916-1993). The reverse side of the medal reads, “Recognizing Entrepreneurship Research Excellence” and features a quote from Ewing Kauffman: “It’s your right to be uncommon if you can. You seek opportunity to compete. You desire to take the calculated risk, to dream, to build, yes, even to fail, and to succeed.” 

The Kauffman Prize Medal was part of a group of academic recognition programs established by the Kauffman Foundation that were consolidated into the Kauffman Knowledge Challenge starting in 2018.

Read papers on SSRN by Entrepreneurship Scholars >

Kauffman Prize Medal Recipients

2017 – Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, Ph.D., Duke University

Aaron Chatterji is an associate professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Ronnie previously served as a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) where he worked on a wide range of policies relating to entrepreneurship, innovation, infrastructure, and economic growth. His research and teaching investigate some of the most important forces shaping our global economy and society: entrepreneurship, innovation and the expanding social mission of business. Ronnie is also a recipient of the 2009 Kauffman Junior Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship Research, a 2005 Kauffman Dissertation Fellow, and received the Rising Star award from the Aspen Institute for his work on business and public policy.
[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER ]

2016 – Yael V. Hochberg, Ph.D., Rice University

Yael Hochberg serves as the Head of the Entrepreneurship Initiative at Rice University and as Academic Director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship. Her research and teaching interests focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, and the financing of entrepreneurial activity. Her research examines the venture capital industry, accelerators, networks and corporate governance, and compensation policies. Yael holds a Research Affiliate position with MIT’s Sloan School of Management and is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She is also Managing Director of the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project, which publishes the annual ranking of accelerator programs in the U.S.
[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER ]

2015 – Ramana Nanda, Ph.D., Harvard Business School

Ramana Nanda is the Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.  His research examines financing frictions in venture capital, corporate R&D and small business finance. This work has shed light on how financial intermediaries, corporate R&D and policy makers can improve the odds of selecting and commercializing the most promising ideas and technologies. Ramana is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and co-heads the Private Capital Project at Harvard Business School. He is also a recipient of the 2010 Kauffman Junior Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship Research and is a 2006 Kauffman Dissertation Fellow.
[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER – RePEc ]

2014 – Nicholas A. Bloom, Ph.D., Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Nick Bloom is a professor of economics at Stanford University, and a co-director of theProductivity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of an Alfred Sloan Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Career Award, the Bernacer Prize and the Frisch Medal. Bloom’s work focuses on measuring and explaining those practices that relate to firm success and the dynamics of the entry and exit of entrepreneurial firms.[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER – RePEc ]

2013 – William R. Kerr, Ph.D., Harvard Business School

William R. Kerr is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and was designated the HBS Marvin Bower Fellow. An expert in agglomeration and entrepreneurship, immigration, and innovation, Kerr researches the role of immigrant scientists in technology commercialization, the interaction of government policy and firm entry and cluster formation, and entrepreneurial finance. Bill is also a recipient of the 2010 Kauffman Junior Faculty Fellowship in Entrepreneurship Research.
[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER – RePEc ]

2012 – Erik Hurst, Ph.D. and Tobias J. Moskowitz, Ph.D., University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

Erik Hurst is the V. Duane Rath Professor of Economics and the John E. Jeuck Faculty Fellow at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. An expert in entrepreneurship, macroeconomic policy and housing markets, Hurst researches barriers to entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance, and household consumption and financial behavior.
[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER – RePEc – Researchgate ]

Tobias “Toby” J. Moskowitz was named the inaugural Dean Takahashi ’80 B.A., ’83 M.P.P.M. Professor of Finance at Yale SOM in 2016. He was formerly the Fama Family Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. An expert in entrepreneurial finance, financial markets and investments, Moskowitz researches the returns to private business ownership, the political economy of financial regulation, corporate finance and financial networks.
[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER – Researchgate ]

2011 – Alexander Ljungqvist, D.Phil., New York University

Alexander Ljungqvist is the Ira Rennert Chair of Finance and Entrepreneurship at New York University. An expert in entrepreneurial finance, venture capital and private equity, Ljungqvist researches financial intermediation, investment banking, initial public offerings, behavioral corporate finance and corporate governance.
[ Research: SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER – RePEc ]

2009 – Antoinette Schoar, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

Antoinette Schoar is the Michael M. Koerner (’49) Professor of Entrepreneurial Finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. An expert in corporate finance, entrepreneurship and organizational economics, Schoar researches venture capital, entrepreneurial finance, corporate diversification and governance and capital budgeting decisions in firms.
[ Research:  SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER – RePEc ]

2007 – Toby Stuart, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business

Toby Stuart is the Leo Helzel Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Faculty Director at the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of California, Berkeley. Stuart’s pioneering research into social networks and their effects on entrepreneurship points to the dynamics of networking and proved that successful entrepreneurs needed to be perceived positively in their networks. Stuart’s research has examined the formulation of firm strategies in a number of industries; the formation, governance, and consequences of strategic alliances; organizational design and new venture formation in established firms; venture capital networks, and the role of networks in the creation of new firms.
[ Research:  SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER ]

2005 – Scott Stern, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

Scott Stern is the David Sarnoff Professor of Management of Technology and Chair of the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Stern explores how innovation – the production and distribution of “ideas” – differs from more traditional economic goods, and the implications of these differences for business and public policy. Often focusing on life sciences industries, this research is at the intersection between industrial organization and the economics of technical change. Recent studies examine the determinants of R&D productivity, the role of incentives and organizational design on the process of innovation, and the drivers of commercialization strategy for technology entrepreneurs.
[ Research:  SSRN – Google Scholar – NBER ]