JMU Joins Virginia Innovation Partnership’s Lab-to-Launch Network

JMU President Jim Schmidt and VIPC CEO Joe Benevento formalized the agreement on October 6 in Richmond. The partnership grants JMU access to the state’s Fast-Track License, a standardized framework created to reduce the costs and legal complexities typically associated with intellectual property licensing. This mechanism is intended to help inventors transition their breakthroughs from laboratory research into the commercial marketplace with greater efficiency.

Beyond licensing, the collaboration introduces Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at the Harrisonburg campus to bridge the gap between academic research and industry expertise. The program also links university innovators with external investor networks and corporate partners. This move expands the Lab-to-Launch initiative, which previously included only Virginia’s six R1 research universities, marking a broader push to cultivate entrepreneurial talent across the Shenandoah Valley and the rest of the Commonwealth.