STEM;PATH;TO;THE;MBA
THE;BACK;STORY
BY JEAN M. MCLEAN
As Bob Crutchfield, general partner of Harbert Venture Partners, settled into his
Birmingham-bound flight from Chicago,
he introduced himself to the young man
seated beside him. The two soon found
common ground.
The 17-year-old young man from San
Clemente, California, Jake Warner, was
on his way to The University of Alabama,
to start the STEM Path to the MBA
program. Warner is a freshman, 2 credit
hours shy of being a junior, due to his
Advanced Placement and College-Level
Examination Program credits. He has
already helped build two businesses. He
was accepted by every school to which
he applied, but because of the caliber
of The University of Alabama’s STEM
Path to the MBA program, he decided
Tuscaloosa was where he wanted to get
his education.
“Jake wants to double-major in
computer science and architectural
engineering. He has a very clear vision
of what he wants to accomplish,”
Crutchfield says.
That in-flight conversation
particularly impressed Crutchfield,
since he is not only an executive
specializing in health care investments,
he is also a Culverhouse STEM-MBA
advisory board member who invests
time in the program because of its
potential to yield more than commercial
dividends.
Crutchfield believes the STEM-MBA
can change lives.
“This program is an integration of
academic and business disciplines that
will equip these emerging leaders with
the necessary skill sets to take ideas and
develop those ideas from concept and
prototype development and, eventually,
to market,” Crutchfield says. “That’s
what excited me about the program.”
“The other reason I’m involved
is that if we can take students like
these and begin developing an
entrepreneurial infrastructure built
on science and technology, we’ll build
an entrepreneurial infrastructure and
community in Alabama,” Crutchfield
says. “Then you’ll see a trickle effect
“YOU KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING IS REVOLUTIONARY, RIGHT?”
—William Gipson
