My Bio Dr. Robert Ronstadt is considered a “think & do leader” in the fields of higher education, technology commercialization, regional economic development, and entrepreneurship. On the “think” side, he has written a number of books and articles on higher education, entrepreneurship, and R&D management. On the “do” side, he has created several for-profit and non-profit enterprises. Over the years, Dr Ronstadt has held senior academic and administrative positions at Boston University, the University of Texas in Austin where he was Director of the renown IC2 Institute and J. Marion West Chair of Constructive Capitalism; at Pepperdine University where he was professor of entrepreneurship; and at Babson College in Wellesley Massachusetts where he was a tenured associate professor and recipient of the Freedom Foundation’s Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education for his groundbreaking work in helping to establish the Babson Entrepreneurship Program in the early eighties. Prior to retiring in 2006, Dr. Ronstadt was Vice President of Boston University, overseeing technology commercialization programs where he had the honor to report directly to the President, the late John Silber. After retiring from academia, Dr. Ronstadt authored two books and several articles on the excessive cost of higher education. In 2017 he began actively mentoring talented high school students with severe financial need, helping them obtain a college education, while graduating with little or no debt. In 2012, Dr. Ronstadt founded Advantage Kids (formerly Lakes Region Tennis Association) now recognized as an award-winning NJTL (National Junior Tennis & Learning organization) affiliated with the USTA (United States Tennis Association). Over the years, Advantage Kids has helped thousands of children in New Hampshire find success on and off the tennis court. As Dr. Ronstadt is fond of saying, “We want to keep kids on the courts, and out of the courts. Our goal is to combine tennis and education to make children champions in whatever they chose to do.” Today, Dr. Ronstadt is a Legacy Fellow and Vice President of TANDO Institute. TANDO, which stands for a Think And Do tank, is a spin-off of the Fellows Program formerly associated with the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. TANDO Institute is composed of over ninety individuals drawn from academia, business, and government. Among their number they count Nobel Laureates and winners of the Von Neumann Medal and the Kondratieff Medal. A shared objective of TANDO Fellows is to work on solving complex, unstructured problems in critical areas, including higher education. Dr. Ronstadt holds a doctorate in international business and the management of technology from Harvard University where he worked for six years at the Harvard Business School, mentored by Robert Stobaugh, Raymond Vernon, Richard Rosenbloom, all now sadly deceased. Prior to Harvard, he spent two years earning a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Oregon. His undergraduate training was in history at the University of California at Berkeley. He and his wife are former Peace Corps Volunteers who met in Peru during the sixties and have been happily married for over fifty years. They currently reside in Laconia, near Lake Winnipesaukee and frequently see their two children and three grandchildren who reside in nearby Massachusetts.
MY PHILOSOPHY “The one thing that is truly unfair is an unfulfilled life
that could have been saved through education."
My Bio Dr. Robert Ronstadt is considered a “think & do leader” in the fields of higher education, technology commercialization, regional economic development, and entrepreneurship. On the “think” side, he has written a number of books and articles on higher education, entrepreneurship, and R&D management. On the “do” side, he has created several for-profit and non-profit enterprises. Over the years, Dr Ronstadt has held senior academic and administrative positions at Boston University, the University of Texas in Austin where he was Director of the renown IC2 Institute and J. Marion West Chair of Constructive Capitalism; at Pepperdine University where he was professor of entrepreneurship; and at Babson College in Wellesley Massachusetts where he was a tenured associate professor and recipient of the Freedom Foundation’s Leavey Award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education for his groundbreaking work in helping to establish the Babson Entrepreneurship Program in the early eighties. Prior to retiring in 2006, Dr. Ronstadt was Vice President of Boston University, overseeing technology commercialization programs where he had the honor to report directly to the President, the late John Silber. After retiring from academia, Dr. Ronstadt authored two books and several articles on the excessive cost of higher education. In 2017 he began actively mentoring talented high school students with severe financial need, helping them obtain a college education, while graduating with little or no debt. In 2012, Dr. Ronstadt founded Advantage Kids (formerly Lakes Region Tennis Association) now recognized as an award-winning NJTL (National Junior Tennis & Learning organization) affiliated with the USTA (United States Tennis Association). Over the years, Advantage Kids has helped thousands of children in New Hampshire find success on and off the tennis court. As Dr. Ronstadt is fond of saying, “We want to keep kids on the courts, and out of the courts. Our goal is to combine tennis and education to make children champions in whatever they chose to do.” Today, Dr. Ronstadt is a Legacy Fellow of TANDO Institute. TANDO, which stands for a Think And Do tank, is a spin-off of the Fellows Program formerly associated with the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. TANDO Institute is composed of over ninety individuals drawn from academia, business, and government. Among their number they count Nobel Laureates and winners of the Von Neumann Medal and the Kondratieff Medal. A shared objective of TANDO Fellows is to work on solving complex, unstructured problems in critical areas, including higher education. Dr. Ronstadt holds a doctorate in international business and the management of technology from Harvard University where he worked for six years at the Harvard Business School, mentored by Robert Stobaugh, Raymond Vernon, Richard Rosenbloom, all now sadly deceased. Prior to Harvard, he spent two years earning a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Oregon. His undergraduate training was in history at the University of California at Berkeley. He and his wife are former Peace Corps Volunteers who met in Peru during the sixties and have been happily married for over fifty years. They currently reside in Laconia, near Lake Winnipesaukee and frequently see their two children and three grandchildren who reside in nearby Massachusetts.
MY PHILOSOPHY “The one thing that is truly unfair is an unfulfilled life
that could have been saved through education."

Sharing Forward

My Interests

Regarding Writing

   -Using Writing:
            to Discover New Ideas
            to Share Thoughts
            to Preserve Thoughts

Writing to Preserve.  
Anyone who writes frequently over decades realizes sadly that things you've write get lost.  An important goal of this digital diary is to preserve my writings, my thoughts, so they survive my life.

Writing to Discover
Thoughts jumble around in my mind. Sometimes they emerge linearally, sometimes laterally.  But mostly its chaos in there.  Writing, I suppose I should say re-writing and re-writing and re-writing.  That process allows me to discover, and discovery keeps me sane.  Writing orders my thinking.  The search for clarity, brevity, insights, and concepts gives purpose to my life. 

Writing to Share
Blame it on the Peace Corps.  When you see others go hungry... when you see frail babies die on a cold night, you want to help. And helping begins with sharing.  What do we share?  If we have wealth, we share it.  If we have time, we share it.  If we  have knowledge, we share it.  I have little wealth, and I'm running out of time. What I have to share are writings that hopefully enlighten. 

As a young assistant Professor at Babson College

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On Art

I owe a special debt of gratitude to my wife and partner for over 50 years, Rebecca Ronstadt who introduced me to the world of art and, more importantly, a love of art.  She led by example, as an artist and as the publisher of the Journal of the Print World.  

This newspaper, due to celebrate its 50th anniversary, is dedicated to works of fine  art on paper.  Of those 50 years, we have published it for the last 15 years.  It's truly a unique publication.   Take a look at the website and you will see what I mean.  

https://journaloftheprintworld.com/

On Tennis and Advantage Kids

from life's lessons hitting a silly yellow ball to
Advantage kids offering free tennis lessons to underserved kids

I was fortunate at age 14 to discover tennis.  It has been a 70 year love affair that kept me out of trouble most of the time.  

Thirteen years ago I decided to give back by offering free tennis lessons to children in our town.  Before I knew it, we had tennis operations in over a dozen towns around Lakes Winnisquam and Lake Winnipeakawkee in Central New Hampshire.  Today, Advantage Kids has operations all over the state, offering tennis to over 1000 kids each year.  

Kids.Advantage Kids is relatively unique insofar as it uses tennis as a vehicle to teach kids about courage, discipline, persistance, mental strenght and wellness on and off the court.  
Ethics is big in tennis because it is one of the only sports where you call your opponent's shots.  You need to be fair and honest.
Tennis is a lifetime sport that studies have shown can prolong your life.
Tennis players:  Pay it forward.  
Remember, "Adults pay, so kids can play."
To donate, go to www.advantagekids.org 

Website of Dr. Robert Ronstadt

MY PHILOSOPHY “The one thing that is truly unfair is an unfulfilled life

that could have been saved through education."

MY PHILOSOPHY “The one thing that is truly unfair is an unfulfilled life

that could have been saved through education."

Sharing Forward

My Interests

-Using Writing: to Discover New Ideas to Share Thoughts to Preserve Thoughts

As a young assistant Professor at Babson College

-About the Project on The Future of Universities

Teaching in the global classroom at IC2 institute, UT Austin, as the J. Marion West Professor of Constructive Capitalism

Developing a new entrepreneurship curriculum

In Rome, outside the parthenon

on Smart College Shopping

Selecting the Right College

Paying for College

Maxing your College ROI

Minimizing College Debt

Creating College Budgets

On Art

On Tennis and Advantage Kids

from life's lessons hitting a silly yellow ball to Advantage kids offering free tennis lessons to underserved kids

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