The University of Georgia is accelerating its commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship with the appointment of an executive director to lead its growing Innovation District. J. Chris Rhodes, director of industry partnerships and project-based learning in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, will begin leading the campus-wide initiative on Nov. 1.

Prior to joining UGA, Rhodes served as director of global business development and open innovation in the crop cycle division of AGCO Corporation, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural solutions. Earlier, he fulfilled a variety of management assignments at John Deere Inc., including leading strategic planning efforts in the company’s Latin America market and coordinating global strategic planning and change management activities for the company’s agriculture division.   

Rhodes earned a bachelor���s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. While a student at Duke, he co-founded Precision Biosciences, a company that employs novel genome editing technology to develop new medicines designed to treat hard-to-cure illnesses including rare genetic diseases. The Durham, North Carolina, company underwent an initial public offering in 2019 and is listed on NASDAQ.

“I want to congratulate Chris Rhodes on his selection as Executive Director of the University of Georgia Innovation District,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Chris has a track record of working collaboratively to help faculty and students — as well as startups and global corporations — transform new innovations into dynamic products and enterprises. I look forward to working with him to further strengthen UGA’s innovation ecosystem and to foster additional economic development locally and throughout Georgia.”     

Launched by Morehead in 2018, the Innovation District aims to catalyze entrepreneurship and innovation by providing UGA stakeholders with essential resources to commercialize discoveries and ideas. Located at the intersection of UGA’s North Campus and downtown Athens, the Innovation District integrates campus programs offering entrepreneurship coaching and mentorship, accelerator services for early-stage business ideas, training and tools for small businesses, pitch decks and co-working spaces, offices for startups, and community-building activities for entrepreneurs.

As part of the Innovation District initiative, the university launched Studio 225 in 2019, providing a new home for UGA’s Student Entrepreneurship program and coworking spaces for student startups. Additional units devoted to commercialization and business support relocated to the district in 2020, and in 2021 the university dedicated the Delta Innovation Hub, the home of UGA’s faculty startup program.   

“Chris Rhodes’ appointment represents the next step in the Innovation District’s evolution,” said S. Jack Hu, UGA’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “The Innovation District is a tremendous asset that helps the university fulfill its land-grant mission by propelling life-changing discoveries into the marketplace and leveraging our remarkable talent into solutions for society’s greatest challenges.”    

As executive director, Rhodes will provide vision and leadership for the Innovation District, collaborate with campus leaders to offer tailored services, and spearhead new initiatives to drive further entrepreneurship and commercialization. He will also lead efforts to empower entrepreneurs across campus and provide pathways for commercializing their ideas through district programs.

Rhodes will guide the Innovation District Leadership Team, which includes the leaders of Innovation Gateway, the Student Entrepreneurship Program, the Office of Experiential Learning, the Small Business Development Center and the Office of Business Engagement. He will report jointly to the president and senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

“I am thrilled about this opportunity to work with faculty and students from across campus to transform ideas and discoveries into the products and businesses that will shape the future,” said Rhodes. “The University of Georgia community is defined by its ability to push the boundaries of what is possible, and I look forward to working with campus and industry partners to further transform the Innovation District into an epicenter of these efforts.”

As director of industry partnerships and project-based learning in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Rhodes cultivates entrepreneurship throughout the college while managing industry partnership and advising faculty and student startups. Since 2020, he has helped to develop and grow FABricate, an accelerator program in the college designed to launch food and agricultural startups into the marketplace. He also played a leading role in establishing the college’s Grand Farm initiative, which seeks to attract agricultural technology expertise and businesses to Georgia, and the Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture, which aims to harnesses the power of technology and data to sustainably provide for the planet’s growing population.

Rhodes will be an integral part of UGA’s flourishing research and innovation efforts. In fiscal year 2023, the university’s research and development expenditures reached a record $570.9 million, representing the fifth consecutive year of growth. UGA ranks No. 1 among U.S. universities for the number of products brought to market based on its research.