Since the birth of the ELS program, the department has brought in experienced
professionals to share their knowledge of new venture creation in the classroom.
Just as the student body has come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences,
so have the professors who teach the courses. In 2004, Jeremy Halpern joined the
program as a part time faculty member and has since inspired many students through
his entrepreneurial leadership course, ELS 107. Through this class, Halpern has
challenged students to understand the meaning of leadership and to recognize the
importance of passion in entrepreneurship.
Halpern graduated suma cum laude from UC Berkeley where he began his experiences
with entrepreneurship within an entrepreneurial company that focused on concert
and film production and promotion. During his freshman and sophomore years, he worked
up to 60 hours a week mostly in the capacity of Executive Chairman. Immediately
after UC Berkeley, Halpern attended law school and received his J.D. at UCLA.
After law school, Halpern joined Irell & Manella, one of Los Angeles' then big-5
law firms. During his time there, he focused on early stage ventures and recognized
his passion for the entrepreneurial world. His projects allowed him to work with
successful entrepreneurs such as Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, during Allen's
early stages of founding Charter Communications. Halpern also had the opportunity
to work with the founders of eToys, Stamps.com, and the former heads of Paramount
and HBO. After leaving L.A., Halpern moved to Boston to work at Bingham McCutchen
where he focused on venture capital transactions, distressed asset sales, mergers
and acquisitions, and sports transactions. As an L.A. native, it was a particular
career highlight helping Frank & Jamie McCourt purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Close to five years ago, Halpern left Bingham McCutchen to form Evolution Advisors,
and currently serves as the company's Managing Director, pursuing corporate finance,
merger and acquisition, and business development projects. Since, 2001 Halpern has
also worked at The Capital Network, a non-profit focusing on providing education
to entrepreneurs seeking early stage finance. Come the fall, he will step into the
role of Chairman.
Although Halpern has been both ambitious and successful in his professional career
path, he expresses that he has always had a passion for academia. "The corporate
path was more of a detour than the other way around. Originally I was going to get
my PhD and go into academia, but I never gave away my passion for teaching". Halpern's
fascination with teaching at Tufts began when he was originally invited as a guest
speaker for an ELS 103 Entrepreneurial Finance class to speak about his experience
with law and finance. "I enjoyed talking to the class. Students came from a variety
of different backgrounds; there was an interesting blend of a range of majors".
Halpern's course in Entrepreneurial Leadership has a reputation around campus
for its practical and hands on experience, and for his methods in challenging the
student to reflect on their own leadership abilities. "You can't read about leadership
to fully understand the concept of leadership and the roles of a leader and follower".
Reflecting on his own educational experience, Halpern reveals that a lot of his
teaching methods come from the influence of a professor during law school who utilized
a Socratic teaching style that actively engaged students. Drawing on this educational
experience, Halpern designed his course to be both topical and fun in order to allow
students to be engaged and interested. Professor Halpern's passion for teaching
Entrepreneurial Leadership at Tufts is driven in large part by his belief that the
"Innovation Economy", and its current and future leaders, will be the driving force
behind American economic growth and in the betterment of people's lives around the
world.
