Honored as the Conrad N. Hilton Chair of Entrepreneurship in 1998, Fred Kiesner (aka “Grampa Fred”) built the LMU Entrepreneurship Program from the ground up, starting with an introductory entrepreneurship course in 1974 to being ranked as one of the most recognized and highly-regarded entrepreneurship programs in the nation. He taught a number of undergraduate and graduate management and entrepreneurship courses over the years and has produced several millionaires - even a few billionaires!
The Fred Kiesner Center for Entrepreneurship was named in honor of his passion and dedication to students. Grampa Fred was a mentor, motivator, friend and teacher to more than 16,000 students over a span of 39 years. He retired in 2013 and passed away in 2023.
Kiesner was honored as one of the top five entrepreneurship center directors in the U.S. by Entrepreneur magazine and received many national and international awards for his extraordinary work from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Beta Gamma Sigma and the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence. Chosen as the College of Business Administration’s “Teacher of the Year” 11 times and as a recipient of the Fritz B. Burns Distinguished Teaching Award – LMU’s highest teaching honor – many of Fred’s former students cite him as a major influence on their career goals and life choices.
Fred and Elaine Kiesner Endowed Scholarship Fund
The Fred and Elaine Kiesner Endowed Scholarship Fund honors deserving undergraduate and graduate students in entrepreneurship. Nothing would please the Kiesners more than to leave a lasting gift to future LMU entrepreneurship students to help them achieve their dreams.