Kirk Froggatt
Gemini Chair

An anonymous donor with a deep commitment to the Institute of Technology established the Gemini Chair in Management of Technology with a gift of $4 million in 2006. Its purpose is to help the college provide undergraduate students with training in basic business and entrepreneurial skills with an eye for the technical and engineering marketplace.

Kirk Froggatt, who has years of senior-level management experience in high-technology companies including Hewlett-Packard, Silicon Graphics,
Yahoo!, and Agilent Technologies, was recently named as the Gemini Chair within the Institute of Technology’s Center for the Development of Technological Leadership. He’s anticipating that his new undergraduate course entitled, Technology Leadership Development: Leadership, Professionalism, and Business Basics for Engineers, will broaden the leadership capabilities, business knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills of IT undergraduates.

“As the baby boomer generation ages and retires, there will be a greater demand for people with cross–functional skills to replace them in the workforce,” Froggatt said. “Typically, our IT students are very technically skilled, however, they may lack the interpersonal, management and leadership skills to be successful in today’s dynamic and globally competitive business environment.”

Froggatt said his objective is to create a talent supply chain where businesses look to the University as the preferred provider of talent. “Our two-unit course will provide students an opportunity to build on their technical skills by gaining a working knowledge of the broader business context in which science and technology ideas are translated into solutions that address market needs and generate economic value.”