Len Jessup is a visionary leader in higher education, known as a consensus builder with a deep interest in innovation and entrepreneurship.
He was most recently president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and previously served as dean of the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona. Prior to that, he served as vice president of university development at Washington State University and president of the WSU Foundation, as well as dean of WSU’s Carson College of Business.
Jessup has published and presented widely on information systems, entrepreneurship, innovation, technology transfer, and commercialization. His many publications include co-authoring several editions of Information Systems Today: Managing in the Digital World and articles such as “Uncertainty, Risk Preference, and New-Venture Strategies” in the Journal of Strategy and Management. In addition to his academic achievements, he has received numerous awards, including the 2018 CEO Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District VII.
The first in his family to graduate from college, Jessup was born and raised in Northern California. He holds a doctorate in management and organizational behavior from the University of Arizona with a minor in management information systems. He also holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in information and communication studies, both from California State University, Chico.
Co-authored with Joseph Valacich and Alex Wang. “Did I buy the wrong gadget? How the evaluability of technology features influences technology feature preferences and subsequent product choice.” Research Note in MIS Quarterly 42, no. 2 (2018): 633-644.
Co-authored with Alex Wang and Paul Clay. “Measurement model in entrepreneurship and small business research: A ten-year review.” International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 11, no. 1 (2015): 183-212.
Co-authored with Avimanyu Datta and Debmalya Mukherjee. “Understanding Commercialization of Technological Innovations: Taking Stock and Moving Forward.” R&D Management 44, no. 3 (2015): 215-249.
Co-authored with Alex Wang. “A Review and Synthesis of Entrepreneurship Research: Towards an Integrative Model of Dependent Variables.” Journal of Entrepreneurship 23, no. 2 (2014): 163-199.
Co-authored with J. K. Osiri, Douglas Miller, and Linda Clarke. “Academic Entrepreneurship: Technology Transfer in Higher Education.” Journal of Entrepreneurship Education 17 (2014): 39-61.
Co-authored with Avimanyu Datta. “Looking beyond the focal industry and existing technologies for radical innovations.” Technovation 33, nos. 10-11 (2013): 355-367.
Co-authored with Avimanyu Datta and Richard Reed. “Commercialization of Innovations: An overarching framework and research agenda.” American Journal of Business 28, no. 2 (2013): 147-191.
Co-authored with Avimanyu Datta and Richard Reed. “Factors Affecting the Governance of Innovation Commercialization: A theoretical model.” Journal of Business and Management 17, no. 2 (2013): 31-60.
Co-authored with Richard Reed and Susan Storrud-Barnes. “How Open Innovation affects the Drivers of Competitive Advantage: Trading the benefits of IP creation and ownership for free invention.” Management Decision 50 (2012): 58-73.
Co-authored with Avimanyu Datta and Richard Reed. “Corporate Reputation and the Commercialization of Innovation: Does reputation match reality, and does innovation matter?” Technology and Investment 2, no. 4 (2011): 256-272
Co-authored with Susan Storrud-Barnes and Richard Reed. “Uncertainty, Risk Preference, and New-venture Strategies.” Journal of Strategy and Management 3 (2010): 273-284.