Faculty
A Motivating Factor
Bauer Lecturer Invests in the Future of Students
Serial entrepreneur Keith Rassin brings his real experiences to the classroom as a lecturer for the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship.
I’ve seen how entrepreneurship can change your life.
Keith Rassin
Entrepreneur and Bauer College Lecturer
For more than 14 years, as a lecturer for Bauer College’s Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, Keith Rassin has brought his entrepreneurial expertise into the classroom.
And now, he’s sharing not only his time, but also his financial support, with students.
Rassin recently created the Rassin Family Endowed Scholarship, which provides funds to eligible Wolff Center students. Rassin, who says he plans to eventually grow the scholarship to provide recipients a full ride, saw the need to help that students who inspire him.
“If this gives our students some financial security so they can spend more time on school, that is great. Most of our students have jobs and school is part time, or if they can start a business, even better,” he said.
Rassin joined the Wolff Center faculty in 2008 and has taught a range of entrepreneurship courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is co-founder of eConserve LLC, a Houston based water conservation company with a national footprint. He was previously a partner and Chief Operating Officer at iPath Solutions, which he sold to Perficient. He has also served as a consulting executive in the health care practices at Ernst & Young and Accenture.
“My early experience at UH was invigorating. The students motivated me, and their excitement was contagious,” he said. “Being in class with them, and in Wolff with experiential projects, that got me excited. This has led me to look at other projects, and they give me energy that I wouldn’t have without them.”
A serial entrepreneur himself, with a track record of establishing, developing and selling companies, Rassin said he wants his new scholarship to give students the financial security to focus on schoolwork and potentially launching businesses while in college.
“I’ve seen how entrepreneurship can change your life, and I want to contribute to that with our students,” he said.
Since joining the Bauer faculty, Rassin has taught an entrepreneurial overview course and finance for the Master of Business Administration program, eventually creating courses and programs for the Wolff Center with Executive Director Dave Cook, which include a Shark Tank-style class, and the college’s Cougar Venture Fund.
Although the scholarship is new, Rassin says he is already looking toward the future of the impact of the gift.
He added: “I’ve seen how entrepreneurship can change your life and can make you satisfied in your career, and I want to contribute to that.”
