Cheryl Horst has been appointed interim executive director at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s tech transfer office as Brad Roth prepares to retire.
NUtech Ventures, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL)’s tech transfer arm, has promoted Cheryl Horst from associate director and IP counsel to interim executive director to take over from Brad Roth.
Roth has been president and executive director of NUtech Ventures, as well as associate vice-chancellor for technology development, since 2013. He plans to retire by the end of this year.
Horst has been with NUtech Ventures for more than 15 years, initially joining as a technology agent and patent agent in 2009, before becoming director of licensing in 2012, assistant director in 2014 and associate director and IP counsel in 2019.
Before joining NUtech Ventures, Horst was a licensing and IP intern at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which handles commercialisation on behalf of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sherri Jones, interim vice-chancellor for research and economic development, said: “Sustained growth in research and innovation is critical to our success as a 21st-century research institution. Cheryl brings valuable experience and expertise in the roles that commercialisation and tech transfer have in higher education.
“I’m excited to work with her to identify new opportunities for the faculty, form industry partnerships and advance the university’s innovations for real-world impact.
“I also want to thank Brad for his leadership and commitment to commercialising UNL innovations and supporting faculty innovators and research-based startups over the years.”
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is editor-at-large of Global University Venturing and Global Corporate Venturing, and host of the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast.
