Maureen Cumpstone, a restaurateur and caterer who was Ursinus College’s first entrepreneur in residence, has been named one of eight recipients of the 2019 Leavey Awards for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education.

Cumpstone, who received the Ursinus appointment in 2016, is being honored for her leadership of the college’s U-Imagine Center for Integrative and Entrepreneurial Studies.

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The Leavey Awards, administered by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation and Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, were created in 1977 to reward educators across the country who develop innovative ways of teaching students about the free enterprise system and entrepreneurship. Each winner receives a $7,500 award. In four decades, more than 600 teachers – from elementary school to college level – have received over $4 million in prize money.

The U-Imagine Center is a crucial part of Ursinus College’s mission to develop a campus-wide entrepreneurial spirit. The Center’s interdisciplinary programs encourage collaboration, boldness, thinking big, and acting responsibly and ethically, all while students pursue transformative ideas that provide value for the community. Through the center, students at the Montgomery County,   liberal arts college have access to funding, resources, and outside expertise to support their initiatives. Alumni report that U-Imagine experiences contribute to professional success after graduation.

Cumpstone, a 1979 graduate of Ursinus, began Sorella Rose Bar & Grille, a restaurant and catering business in Flourtown, PA, in 1995. The business grew to include event planning and a second location in Avalon, NJ.

“More than ever, our nation and its economy need entrepreneurs, small-business owners, and business visionaries,” said David Harmer, president and CEO of Freedoms Foundation. “These leaders are coming from the classrooms of Leavey Award recipients. People are now realizing what Thomas and Dorothy Leavey knew 42 years ago – teaching future generations to develop an appreciation, knowledge and enthusiasm for the American free enterprise system is essential to ensuring our nation’s continued success.”

This year’s class of Leavey Award recipients will be honored at a dinner and award ceremony from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday, July 18, on the campus of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, 1601 Valley Forge Road, Phoenixville, PA 19460. While on campus they will also make a presentation about their award-winning program to business educators attending the graduate seminar “Innovative Entrepreneurs, Dynamic Economy.”

For more information, contact Carolyn Santangelo, senior director of chapter and partner relations, at 610-933-8825, ext. 234, or csantangelo@ffvf.org.

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