Dina Rousset P’25 will lead and grow an Elon University center that encourages creative and design thinking, opportunity recognition, and plan formulation and implementation.
A seasoned entrepreneur and global business leader with experience scaling startups, driving innovation, and fostering collaborative teams will serve as the next director of Elon University’s Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Dina Rousset P’25 begins her new role at Elon on February 11, 2025.
Rousset’s background includes a tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as senior associate director of venturing and acceleration in the Kenan-Flagler Business School.
“Dina’s vision, experience and leadership make her an excellent choice for this role,” said Raghu Tadepalli, dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “We are confident that she will build on the center’s current success while establishing innovative initiatives that will elevate the center to even greater heights.”
During her time at UNC Chapel Hill, Rousset built and led Launch Chapel Hill, a university accelerator that was named “4th Best University Accelerator Program in North America” by UBI Global. Under her leadership, Launch Chapel Hill’s client companies raised more than $30 million in additional funding and created over 1,150 jobs.
She also developed and directed The Adams Apprenticeship, an esteemed mentorship-driven program that matched UNC’s most entrepreneurial students with an international network of expert advisors.
“I’ve seen firsthand from my son’s experience that as an institution, Elon does more than just educate – it provides a space for students to learn and thrive through hands-on experience,” Rousset said. “I am honored to be the next person in this role and am excited for the opportunity to work with the amazing Elon students, award-winning faculty, and administration to continue advancing the Doherty Center and Elon’s national reputation for innovation and teaching excellence.”
Through her roles at UNC and across multiple entrepreneurial ventures—from founding BP Express in Poland to launching a gourmet food business—Rousset said she consistently strives to demonstrate a passion for building high-performing teams and nurturing thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Rousset said one of her goals is to expand the Doherty Center’s impact by leveraging her extensive networks, as well as Elon University’s many established connections. She envisions deepening the Doherty Center’s role as a hub for experiential learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and real-world entrepreneurial engagement.
Haya Ajjan, who begins her tenure in June as dean of the Love School of Business, described Rousset as an approachable leader with an impressive vision for the future of a center.
“Entrepreneurship at Elon is more than a business concept—it’s a multidisciplinary approach that empowers students of all majors to identify opportunities and create innovative solutions,” she said. “Under Dina’s leadership, we believe the Doherty Center will become an even more dynamic space for experiential learning, where students can hone these critical skills. We are excited to see how Dina leverages her extensive experience to further cultivate this entrepreneurial mindset across campus and beyond.”
Rousset earned her Master of Business Administration in finance and international business from the University of Chicago and her Bachelor of Science from the University of New Orleans. She also served in the Peace Corps in Rwanda, where she helped establish a cooperative store and led community-development initiatives.
Rousset succeeds former Doherty Center director Alyssa Martina and interim director David Higham in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship. She is the parent of Nate Mills ’25, an entrepreneurship major with a minor in economics.
The Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship cultivates an entrepreneurial growth mindset among Elon students and positions its alumni for success and leadership in the pursuit of exceptional economic and social progress on a global scale. The Center, located on the first floor of Richard W. Sankey Hall, was established by a generous endowment gift from Ed and Joan Doherty, entrepreneurs from Saddle River, N.J. They are parents of 2007 Elon graduate Kerry Doherty and have served on the university’s Parents Council.
Ed Doherty currently serves as an Elon University Trustee.
The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business is a leader in transformative business education accredited by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Poets&Quants, a leading business education news resource, ranks the school’s undergraduate business program among the top 40 in the nation, with The Princeton Review naming the Elon MBA part-time program among the best in the United States.