Santa Monica College Faculty Honored With Inaugural Michelson IP Educator of Excellence Award

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (Michelson IP) is proud to award three Santa Monica College faculty members with the inaugural Michelson IP Educator of Excellence Award for their leadership in championing intellectual property (IP) and entrepreneurship education. The award is presented in partnership with the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to IP education for budding entrepreneurs, inventors, makers and creators. Hailing from the Santa Monica College Business Department, the award recipients are:

• Sal Veas, department chair
• Nathan Khalil, faculty, Business & Administration of Justice
• Dana Nasser, faculty, Business & Administration of Justice

The three award recipients demonstrated leadership, developed innovative and successful approaches for integrating IP subject matter into curriculum, and used their creativity to inspire students and fellow educators. The award was presented at the NACCE Annual Conference following a keynote by Dr. Gary K. Michelson, founder and co-chair of the Michelson 20MM Foundation and sole named inventor of nearly 1,000 patents worldwide.

"Students are capable of spurring disruptive innovation," Michelson said. "By nurturing students and lifelong learners with the proper IP education and resources, we can support inventors and entrepreneurs on their way to solving the world's greatest challenges."

In 2017, Santa Monica College was selected as the lead institution in a multi-campus pilot program launched by NACCE and Michelson IP.  They developed model curriculum to integrate Michelson IP's free resources into community college courses. Today, over 80 NACCE member colleges have utilized Michelson IP materials.

"Santa Monica College has been a leading advocate for IP education and a visionary champion when it comes to infusing IP curriculum into undergraduate programming across our nation," said Phillip Kim, CEO of the Michelson 20MM Foundation. "Sal, Dana, and Nathan have worked with us from the beginning on numerous mission-aligned projects. We can't imagine this work without their valuable contributions and expertise. It is a great honor to present them with this award."

"Meeting the Michelson 20MM team at the 2016 NACCE National Conference was serendipity at its finest," said Veas. "Little did we know that it was the start of a relationship that would have tremendous depth and reach in assisting community colleges to infuse IP into their curriculum. We feel so honored to be the first college to receive this award and recognition."

In addition to public recognition at the annual NACCE conference, the Michelson IP Educator of Excellence award includes a cash grant of $5,000 to the Santa Monica College Department of Business.

About Michelson IP
The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property provides no cost IP educational resources to empower budding inventors and entrepreneurs. Michelson IP is an initiative of the Michelson 20MM Foundation, which focuses on a range of issues, including digital equity, smart justice, and open educational resources. It operates with support from Alya and Dr. Gary K. Michelson, members of The Giving Pledge.

CONTACT: Jen Liu
[email protected] or 310-486-3568

SOURCE The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property

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