John Surdyk Named Director of Colby’s Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship
Experienced educator joins Colby from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to lead innovation hub
John Surdyk, an experienced educator and proven leader with a track record of creating academic programs that expand access, deepen impact, and connect students with opportunities, is the new director of Colby’s Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship.
Launched in 2022 and funded by Trustee Emeritus Todd Halloran ’84, the Halloran Lab for Entrepreneurship is an innovation hub that promotes entrepreneurship and provides student training, mentorship, and funding for commercial startups and social enterprises.
Surdyk comes to Colby from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he directed the Initiative for Studies in Transformational Entrepreneurship within the Wisconsin School of Business for nearly 22 years. During that time, he built and scaled cocurricular entrepreneurship programs that served thousands of students and embedded entrepreneurial principles across campus for all student segments.
He filled many other roles at UW, including as deputy department chair for the Department of Management and Human Resources, and as a member of the teaching faculty at the Bolz Center for Arts Administration. In 2025, he won the peer-recognized Gaumnitz Excellence in Instruction with AI Award from the Wisconsin School of Business, honoring professors who actively experiment with and integrate artificial intelligence tools into their curriculum to prepare students for the modern business landscape.
The Wisconsin School of Business has also honored him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2025 and the Mabel W. Chipman Award for Teaching Excellence.
“John brings a tremendous amount of experience and insight into this role, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to Colby. He is innovative, energetic, and enthusiastic,” said Provost and Clara C. Piper Professor of Environmental Studies Denise Bruesewitz, who led the search committee. “The programs he developed in the entrepreneurial realm at the University of Wisconsin were modeled nationwide, and his expertise and his generosity as an educator have directly impacted the lives of thousands of students.”
Focused on student success
At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Surdyk became known for guiding students to opportunities they likely would not have found otherwise. He helped establish UW’s StartUp Learning Community for incoming students across all majors, with classes, cocurricular activities, and grants. This program distinguished UW from most similar initiatives, which focus on supporting seniors.
He expanded student participation in innovation and entrepreneurship through such partners as the Wisconsin Technology Council and developed immersion programs, including the nationally lauded Morgridge Entrepreneurial Boot Camp for graduate students in science and engineering, which has reached more than 1,200 students since its inception in 2007.
An educator, researcher, and successful grant writer and fundraiser, Surdyk brings considerable experience in strategic planning and cross-campus collaborations to Colby. Prior to joining the University of Wisconsin in 2004, he was managing partner and cofounder of Re-Envision Consulting LLC, which helped technology startups and entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations research markets, evaluate opportunities, and develop growth strategies. He also served as an associate at Navigant Consulting, which specialized in insurance, and as an analyst at Stanford Research Institute Consulting.
Surdyk earned a B.S. in earth systems science from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Wisconsin School of Business.
‘Colby is doing pioneering work’
He was drawn to Colby because of its reputation as an exceptional liberal arts college that creates unique learning opportunities for its students, its commitment to entrepreneurship, innovation, and interdisciplinary learning, and an engaged student body.
“Colby is doing pioneering work across its curriculum and programming, and so much of it is centered on improving people’s lives,” he said. “It’s a private college with an extraordinary public-spiritedness, and I found that really compelling.”
During his spring visit to campus, he was impressed by conversations with students, who expressed empathy for others and a commitment to the larger community.
“I am very excited about working with students who see the world more broadly,” Surdyk said. “There is a general notion within the entrepreneurial community that a lot of impetus behind entrepreneurial action is rooted in empathy for others. A place like Colby is a fantastic setting for this work because a liberal arts education is all about developing the ability to put yourself in other people’s positions, through literature, the arts, and in other areas.”
He noted the range of labs operating at Colby and the opportunities available to Colby students. “The programs that are most successful are those that focus on student capabilities, confidence, and connections, and that’s exactly what Colby’s labs are designed to deliver. The foundation is already in place, and I’m excited to build upon it as director of the Halloran Lab.”
The Halloran Lab works to bridge a traditional liberal arts education with practical, real-world business skills through funding and competitions, a mentorship network, innovation and maker spaces, and experiential learning, such as off-campus trips and specific courses to help students find and frame problems worth solving.
Currently housed in the F.W. Olin Science Center, the Halloran Lab will move to the Levine’s Discovery Headquarters when it opens in a renovated Runnals Building in fall 2027. The building will serve as a modern, 40,000-square-foot community and discovery space with flexible project rooms, maker spaces, offices, and an adaptable open multipurpose central creative core. It will become a hub where students explore new ideas and engage in projects supported by the Halloran Lab, the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence, and Colby’s other academic labs that encourage creativity, research, and innovation.
