Carl Schramm became an academic to escape death.

U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War peaked when Schramm graduated from Le Moyne College in 1968. Determined to elude the draft, he sought out means of rescue. Although draft evasion was not uncommon in the 1960s, Schramm’s case was exceptional: It was the first step he took in a long and rigorous march to Syracuse University.

“Maybe it wasn’t the best way to approach service to my country, maybe it was a selfish motive, but that’s the unvarnished truth of why I went to study in graduate school,” Schramm said.

Schramm was appointed as SU’s 16th University Professor in June. He is teaching IST 400/600: “Building Real Companies: The New Entrepreneurship,” a class cross-listed in the School of Information Studies, the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. This is the first time in more than 10 years that he has been in the classroom.

The class, which Schramm said is the only one of its kind, examines the process of starting a business through practical guidance and advice. He believes that students should learn through empirical evidence.

“My concern is that much of how business is taught across the country is the passing on of war stories, some of which have become mythical over time,” he said.

Schramm said his goal for the course is to provide students with a practical understanding of the entrepreneurial process and to prepare students who want to start their own businesses.

Chris Guimarin, a junior communication design major, is interested in starting a creative firm and said the class is a good place for students to debate about and ultimately come to a conclusion on the best methods of starting a company.

“It’s the type of environment that fosters a lot of thinking,” he said. “(Schramm) will bring up a topic and then we’ll start discussing it. Soon after, a fight breaks out. Not literally, but people defend their opinions.

Schramm earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and later a doctorate in labor economics and industrial relations from the University of Wisconsin and a law degree from Georgetown University. Before teaching at SU, Schramm was a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University.

Most recently, Schramm worked as president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. While there, he grew the foundation into one of the largest private funders of economic research in the country and oversaw the granting of $80 million per year. He also initiated the Kauffman Campus Program to encourage entrepreneurship in education. Seventeen universities are part of the program, including SU.

His expansive knowledge of economic growth and innovation includes the restructuring of economies. In 2011 he co-founded the Obama administration’s Start Up America initiative, intended to increase the development and success of U.S. firms. He also recently published a book called “Better Capitalism.”

Schramm said the book argues that the U.S. economy should be growing at a rate of 4 percent per year. Written during the start of the 2008 recession, the book proposes an ambitious approach on how to restart the U.S. economy.

As a native of Syracuse, Schramm said he has witnessed the effects of the recession on the city firsthand.

“The city is radically different, it used be the beautiful part and the university district was the place you avoided,” he said. “Now it’s the opposite, over one-fifth of the city is in poverty and the campus has been beautified unbelievably.”

Bruce Kingma, associate provost for entrepreneurship and innovation at SU, said that Schramm’s book could help more cities than Syracuse.

“The book is a tour de force in what is needed to promote economic growth,” Kingma said. “His work promoting expeditionary economics is getting everyone to think about what we do in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq after traumatic events to promote economic growth.”

Capable of writing a book, teaching and controlling an international foundation, Schramm considers himself to be a good multitasker. He teaches his class as though he were running a business — a business with clear objectives and malleable structure.

“I’m trying to not only to use and teach the secret of obliquity — that is, don’t get too rigid in your thinking — but also that students must be flexible,” he said.

Schramm has witnessed the transformation of Syracuse. His great-great grandfather even helped build the Hall of Languages. He’s well-versed in SU history and is glad to be teaching here.

Published on September 26, 2012 at 2:56 am

Contact Joe: jtinfant@syr.edu | @joeinfantino