Entrepreneur Joins University Board to Drive Innovation

Tech founder and ecosystem builder brings $400M in exits, federal partnerships, and inclusive-growth playbook to Midwest flagship

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – November 28, 2025 – Indiana State University announced today the appointment of Dr. Maya Patel—founder of three venture-backed companies and a former White House Innovation Fellow—to its Board of Trustees. Patel, whose startups have generated more than 400 high-skill jobs across the Midwest, will chair a new “Innovation & Impact” sub-committee charged with aligning university R&D, procurement, and talent pipelines with the region’s $2.3 billion clean-tech and advanced-manufacturing opportunity zone.

Patel’s appointment arrives as venture capital flows into non-coastal states reach an all-time high—38 % of U.S. deals in 2025, up from 22 % a decade ago—according to a May 2025 FedTech analysis of PitchBook data. “Universities are the new economic anchors,” said Patel. “If we connect IP, procurement dollars, and workforce development in one feedback loop, we can compress the time-to-market for deep-tech startups by half”.

The university’s 2025–30 strategic plan targets tripling industry-sponsored research to $120 million and launching 100 spinouts. Patel’s first mandate is to stand-up a “Founders-in-Residence” network that embeds seasoned operators inside university labs—modeled on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Boost program that has already created four startups in New Mexico since 2023.

“Maya has walked the walk—she scaled a lab-born battery material to a $220 million exit in six years,” said ISU President Dr. Karen Holford. “Her lived experience ensures our commercialization engine will be founder-first, not grant-first.”

Regional partners are already signaling support. Elevate Ventures, the state-backed fund-of-funds, has pledged an additional $15 million side-car earmarked for ISU-linked seed rounds, conditional on at least 40 % of capital reserved for under-represented founders. The move mirrors evidence from the U.S. Economic Development Administration that inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems generate 1.7× more patents per dollar invested.

Patel’s board term begins January 1, 2026, and runs through 2029. She will remain CEO of her current venture, AetherGrid, a DOE-funded startup modernizing rural micro-grids, while devoting approximately one-quarter of her time to board duties—an arrangement unanimously approved by the university’s ethics committee.

About Indiana State University

Indiana State University is a public doctoral research university enrolling 12,700 students and annually conducting $84 million in sponsored research. Designated an “R2—High Research Activity” institution by the Carnegie Classification, ISU operates five technology incubators and the state’s only FAA-certified drone-test range.