ETSU Research Corporation, Niswonger Foundation launch Niswonger Innovates to keep graduates and startups in the region
“A discovery does not create a single job until someone turns it into a product and builds a company around it,” said David Golden, CEO of the ETSU Research Corporation. “That takes facilities, capital and people who have done it before. Scott has done this multiple times and having him and his foundation working alongside our team changes what we can take on.”
The Niswonger Foundation and the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Research Corporation have signed a memorandum of understanding that sets up a long-term strategic alliance. Its goals are to start and grow companies, bring university research to market and create the jobs that keep the region’s graduates at home.
“ETSU was founded to improve the quality of life for the people of this region, and today that means building an economy where our graduates can stay and do well,” said ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland, who chairs the Research Corporation’s board. “Pairing Scott Niswonger’s experience with the Research Corporation’s mission and talents will help us move more ideas from the university into businesses that hire here.”
How the partnership will work
Under the agreement, the Foundation will launch a new division called Niswonger Innovates, focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and regional development.
- As the innovation partner, the Research Corporation will develop and commercialize intellectual property, manage projects and lead workforce and talent initiatives, starting with platforms already running such as the Valleybrook Applied Innovation Complex, the ETSU Innovation Lab, 2681 CORE Accelerator, StoryCollab, and the Appalachian Music Collective.
- The Foundation will share its expertise and provide administrative support to the Research Corporation. This includes being able to invest in or give philanthropic support to ventures.
“A discovery does not create a single job until someone turns it into a product and builds a company around it,” said David Golden, CEO of the ETSU Research Corporation.
“That takes facilities, capital and people who have done it before. Scott has done this multiple times and having him and his foundation working alongside our team changes what we can take on.”
What gap does this partnership solve
Northeast Tennessee has long faced the same problem as much of rural America: “without high-quality jobs in the region, many graduates must look for opportunity somewhere else.”
The fix takes two things. People ready to do the work, and high-quality companies here to hire them. The Niswonger Foundation has spent 25 years on the first. The ETSU Research Corporation has spent years building the second. This partnership puts them together.
“We’ve spent 25 years helping students in this region prepare for college and careers,” said Niswonger. “That investment pays off for Northeast Tennessee only if there are good jobs here for them to come home to. I have seen what a university research foundation can do for a region through my service on the Purdue Research Foundation board, and I believe the same thing can happen here.”
A quarter century of impact
Niswonger Innovates may be new, but the Niswonger Foundation has been doing economic development and advocating for education innovation for 25 years.
This past Thursday, community leaders celebrated the Foundation’s 25th anniversary and gathered to learn more about Niswonger Innovates.
The Foundation is the “back-of-a-napkin” brainchild of Niswonger himself. He founded Landair Transport and Forward Air, the first two Greeneville-based companies to go public. But believe it or not, school wasn’t his strong suit. He admits he would have rather been out flying a plane. It was later, in the leadership seat, that he came to respect what education makes possible.
“Twenty-five years ago, we noticed a phenomenon where a lot of our small rural schools, as the kids went on to higher ed, were not being successful,” Niswonger explained at the celebration. So, he did something about it.
To date, the Foundation has put $234 million into its education work. A $21 million federal Investing in Innovation (i3) grant in 2010, the Foundation’s first grant, changed how it operated and opened the door to more state and federal funding. That allowed a handful of Foundation staff to grow to nearly 50 employees today running seven programs. Last semester alone, its AP Access for All program reached close to 3,000 students across the state. See their full 2025 impact numbers here.
Greene County Mayor Kevin Morrison, State Senator Rusty Crowe and State Representative Rebecca Alexander honored the Foundation’s 25th milestone with a proclamation. They noted that Tennessee has climbed to “16th in the nation in education and first in the South,” and they credited the Foundation with a big part of that climb.
Even more impact to come
Looking ahead, those stats should only improve. Niswonger called the Foundation’s next era “Gen Two,” and it centers on Niswonger Innovates with the Research Corporation.
“Our mutual goal will be to bring funding and the speed of business to generate startup companies within our own region using skill sets of both organizations. The obvious goal here is to generate high-paying jobs in this region that will allow young people to stay within the region while creating their own entrepreneurial base,” he said. “But the model also sustains the Foundation itself. Economic development projects fund the Foundation, which funds the education work. It’s all about sustainability so that the foundation will live not for just 25 years, but 100 years.”
Both the ETSU Research Corporation and the Niswonger Foundation hope that this partnership inspires other regions across the state and the nation to adopt similar public-private models to elevate their communities.
More partners in this initiative will be announced soon.
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