CIE Blog

Welcome to the Texas State Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship!

The Texas State Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) works to support innovators and entrepreneurs. The department holds various programs to develop the mindset and skills needed for entrepreneurs and innovators to become successful. 

Students, faculty, alumni, and community members are able to learn from various professionals and peers at these events to further facilitate a growing environment of entrepreneurs and innovators.

Following the mission of becoming a “globally recognized center for innovation and entrepreneurship,” the CIE is a department within the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University that hosts programming alongside partnerships to help meet the needs of campus innovators and entrepreneurs to help launch their success.

While fulfilling this mission, the ultimate vision of the CIE is to be a self-sustaining hub at Texas State University where the community can access resources and programming. The support from the McCoy College of Business and the Texas State University community assist in meeting the needs of the innovators and entrepreneurs. The resources and events will assist in launching, growing, and creating the community's innovations. 

On the third floor of Alkek Library, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship holds a “Gathering Space” where students can attend the various events held by the CIE. Nearby students can find the office of Teresa Quinn Valentine, the Director of the CIE. Located in Alkek 350G, Quinn holds an open door policy for students and faculty at Texas State University.

About Quinn

Quinn’s goal is to provide resources to anyone in the Texas State community wishing to develop their innovations and small businesses.

Working in education for over 25 years, Quinn has held positions as an athletic director, high school teacher, and assistant professor.

Prior to coming to San Marcos, Quinn lived in Worcester, Massachusetts where she was the Program Director for the Clark University School of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation. Here she helped the program win a variety of awards and honors with just some including the 2020 Innovations that Inspire award from AACSB International, the 2021 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Center’s (GCEC), and the 2024 ACEEU (Americas) Most Impactful University, Triple-E-Award.

Quinn has served as the Assistant Director of the Kelley Center for Entrepreneurship at Dakota Wesleyan University as well as an assistant professor. Also a co-author for three books, Quinn and Dr. Ryan Van Zee have published Creative Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Entrepreneurial Experience, and A Starter’s Guide to Small Business Ownership.

Prior to her work at Dakota Wesleyan University and Clark University, Quinn worked at the Leona Group, LLC as the program manager, athletic director, and a teacher.

Quinn graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a Bachelor of Science in Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship. Later on she graduated with a Master of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University and a Master of Education from NorthCentral University.

Now living in San Marcos, Texas Quinn is a partner in a solar start-up company, 4Quinns Farm LLC, Webster, South Dakota. Quinn has three grown children, two dogs, and a cat. In her free time she enjoys micro-farming and home renovation projects.

Events

The CIE holds a variety of recurring events throughout the school year to help student innovators and entrepreneurs. All year events include Speaker Series, CIE Gathering Space Events, and Student Made. Student Made will launch Fall 2025 and is a platform similar to Etsy, but designed for students only.

Also coming up this fall, students and faculty can attend Ignite 2.0, a two-day weekend workshop designed to help entrepreneurial journeys. The CIE also holds EIW (Entrepreneurship Industry Workshops) with this year's event having music, food and beverage, clothing, NIL, and social media influence. 

Later in the spring semester, students and faculty can attend the Bobcat Innovation Challenge, which is designed for innovators to grow and pitch STEM and tech solutions that will have a real-world impact.

Be on the lookout for upcoming events!

For more information or to find out how to get involved with the CIE, contact Teresa Quinn Valentine, Director for the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at quinn.valentine@txstate.edu 

Follow us on all our socials - LinkedIn and Instagram and to find our events list, visit our linktr.ee for a full list of events.