Former 1871 CEO Howard Tullman on Tuesday was named the first executive director of the Kaplan Institute at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He begins his new position May 1.

“The beauty of this is, I had a staff of 30 at 1871 and we supported several thousand people a day and 500 companies,” Tullman said. “The difference here is that you have a whole university, and we’re sort of an enhancement and a supplement to that rather than having to start from zero.”

(Illinois Institute of Technology / John Ronan Architects)

(Illinois Institute of Technology / John Ronan Architects)

(Illinois Institute of Technology / John Ronan Architects)

According to IIT, the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship will be “a hub for discovery, innovation, and business creation, giving students the skills and experience needed to make their innovations viable for the market.”

IIT identified goals for Tullman as leader of the Kaplan Center:

• Ensuring all undergraduate students acquire superior innovation and entrepreneurship skills and experience.

• Building strong partnerships with external organizations and entrepreneurs.

• Helping recruit creative students interested in STEM fields

• Providing tools and skills for students to solve complex and significant challenges.

“I feel like very few people even understand how substantial IIT was for so many years. It was really one of the ranked engineering schools in the country, and it’s hard to keep up to pace if you haven’t been able to expand and grow and do everything,” Tullman said. “We see the Kaplan Institute as really formative and an anchor for the next generation of new tech employees.”

Tullman announced in 2017 he was stepping down as CEO of the tech hub 1871. Prior to 1871, he co-founded Tribeca Flashpoint College and was president of Kendall College. He’s a member of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s ChicagoNEXT council, the Illinois Arts Council, and the advisory council for the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

Tullman will give the commencement speech at IIT on May 12, 2018.

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