USD Magazine Spring 2023

M O R G A N D E M E T E R

[ a c t i o n ]

or years, USD has stood as a global leader as a Changemaker campus, I T S T A R T S W I T H A S P A R K Lasting social change focus of new Kroc School institute by Kelsey Grey ’15 (BA) F

address those goals at a local level. This past year at the FGSIC finals, 26 global universities par- ticipated, with 41 student venture teams pitching their ideas. In total, $75,000 was invested in 18 promising global social ventures. These students can continue to work on their social ventures and drive positive change thanks to Ron and Alexis Fowler, who created a $5 million endowment for the FGSIC. “Ron and Alexis’ generosity will afford us to grow the FGSIC so that we are able to bring more global social entre- preneurs together and to invest in and support high-quality, social ventures that otherwise might not have made the

School of Peace Studies and is a global accelerator for social innovation. “Our vision for Spark @ USD is to create a place where stu- dents, faculty members and com- munity stakeholders can bring a kernel of an idea and connect with others to get that spark to tackle the world’s biggest chal- lenges,” explains Associate Director of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Andrew Biros. Spark @ USD is founded on

three pillars: cultivate social entrepreneurs, produce knowl- edge for changemakers and connect students to action. The key way that Spark @ USD cultivates social entrepreneurs is through the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge (FGSIC), a global pitch competition in which students come up with ideas grounded in the United Nations sustainable development goals and create ventures — for profit and nonprofit — that seek to

helping students discover the solutions our world needs to address pressing social issues. Still, a central space where people could come together to share ideas around social innovation was missing. Until now. Spark @ USD launched in the fall of 2022. It’s an institute that’s housed within the Joan B. Kroc

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