nurturing the next generation of mavericks

alumnus wil clouse: trailblazer, maverick, professor and entrepreneur develops and supports entrepreneurial initiatives.

janel shoun-smith | 10/18/2023

dr. r wilburne “wil” clouse (ba ’59) has had a long and distinguished career that has taken him to 48 u.s. states and 18 foreign countries and earned him a number of interesting and diverse titles such as biochemist, professor, executive director, entrepreneurship endowed chair, professor emeritus, international consultant, trailblazer, pioneer and maverick. 

all of which he wears with great pride, resulting from his multidisciplinary background from biochemistry, polymer research, computer and information science, leadership theory, and in the last 25 years, emphasizing entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.

he’s a ph.d. holder who started his studies in chemistry at lipscomb and was on the faculty at vanderbilt university for 40 years, but he’s not the stereotypical academic. he’s much more interested in passing on his “maverick,” go-getter attitude to future leaders.

his personal goal is “to have an impact on the way students think about the future,” he said. he pursues this goal not so much by cracking textbooks, but instead by providing cross-disciplinary learning opportunities designed to develop the next generation of entrepreneurial mavericks.

he does that these days through the clouse-elrod foundation inc., which he founded to support projects that nurture creative thinking, innovation and the willingness to grab opportunities in the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

at lipscomb, the foundation has funded grants for operations and initiatives of the center for entrepreneurship & innovation (cei), scholarships, fellowships, student involvement in a regional maverick innovators program and three student awards for creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship. 

all the foundation’s grants to lipscomb support performance-based activities, of particular interest to clouse since that is how he has lived his lifethinking outside of structured environments and across disciplines.where students receive awards for demonstrating outside-the-box thinking with new and bold ideas that reflect a maverick-like spirit related to creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. 

six fellowship awards have been given at lipscomb and the 2023 award winners were honored at the spring kittrell pitch competition: 

• lily corley, robert o. clouse innovation award
• natalie blickensderfer, virgie elrod clouse creativity award
• reece collie, dr. wil clouse eagle award

“seeing opportunities that others don’t see is essentially what i’m trying to do at lipscomb,” said clouse, who is also an innovation advisor to the college of business and engaged with students as a mentor through the cei program.

that’s exactly what the 86-year-old clouse has done throughout his own career, which has involved product and process development at the e.i. dupont company and starting two businesses with global reach. while developing new and bold ideas teaching at multiple universities, clouse was able to transmit that new knowledge to business and industry through two consulting firms and a foundation he founded: clouse & associates in 1975, matrix systems inc. in 1981 and the clouse-elrod foundation inc. in 2011.

these ventures worked to develop and promote computer-based management systems and digital learning environments designed to boost creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial skills in organizations and students all over the world, thus transferring clouse’s maverick-like spirit to the next generation of entrepreneurs. “seeing new and innovative ideas is exciting,” couse said, “and learning to pivot is important in today's environment.”

upon arriving at lipscomb, clouse majored in chemistry. after three years working in biochemistry, however, he made a career pivot and went on to earn a master’s in economics and a doctorate in educational administration and to carry out a postdoctoral post at the bush public policy institute in north carolina.

everywhere he went, clouse made opportunities for himself, an adage he shares with lipscomb students: don’t wait for opportunities to present themselves, make them yourself.

in his early research in biochemistry at vanderbilt, clouse studied the structure of glycopeptides related to multiple myeloma cancer, and at dupont he helped develop new products related to dacron, a polyester fiber. he developed the state’s first associate’s degree in computer science technology at columbia state community in the 1960s. he was on the faculty at vanderbilt from 1969 to 2008, holding a variety of positions including an assistant director of administration for one of 12 national research centers and founder of the entrepreneurship forum.

clouse’s company, matrix systems inc., developed a 10-year contract arrangement with the ibm corporation to develop marketing strategies and instructional materials for the ibm personal computer during the rise of apple computers in the 1980s.

over the years, throughout all these endeavors, clouse was on faculty at columbia state community college, vanderbilt, western kentucky university, middle tennessee state university; and lipscomb, where he taught part-time from 1967 to 1971 at the invitation of legendary accounting professor axel swang.

beginning his first academic assignment in 1967, clouse has over 57 years of university experience, 100 published articles and approximately 10,000 former students who serve in many different roles including five university presidents, one being lipscomb’s president candice mcqueen.

“i want students to see the excitement of living each day,” said clouse, who also appreciates lipscomb’s faith-based approach to business education. “seeing what they can come up with, that will impact the future!”

if nothing else, lipscomb can lay claim to establishing clouse’s reputation as a maverick. when ray eldridge, dean of the college of business, asked him how he should be listed in an official document, clouse responded off the cuff, “a maverick.” eldridge adopted the term and now introduces him everywhere as “maverick.”