Skandalaris Center

Our Mission 

We foster and empower an inclusive community that finds opportunities in problems and transforms ideas into action. We build an ecosystem of education, research, and resources that engages all WashU students, faculty, alumni, and staff as entrepreneurial leaders and collaborators.

Our Vision

To be renowned for developing action-oriented, creative problem solvers. To serve as a primary resource our community of innovators and entrepreneurs trusts when creating, launching, and scaling ventures for impact.

Core Values

Community First: We create an inclusive and welcoming space for all while recognizing the unique needs and vulnerabilities of those engaging with us. We genuinely care about the success of others – when we see someone struggling, we jump in to help.

Bold Innovation: We are naturally curious and try new things. We continually test, learn, and improve as we develop forward-thinking activations to catalyze entrepreneurial success. 

Connectivity: We bridge the knowledge and capital gaps between people, resources, and ideas. We enable our community to give back as mentors, investors, and advocates to perpetuate a chain of paying it forward.  

Celebration & Fun: We take time to encourage our team and community and celebrate success – formally and informally. We even tout our missteps so we can fail better moving forward. We find the fun in everything we do.

Who We Serve

We work with the best and brightest at WashU – the change-makers, thought leaders, and visionaries – to solve the world’s problems and meet local needs through innovation and entrepreneurship. As an interdisciplinary center, our initiatives serve students, faculty, staff, and alumni from all levels and disciplines.