PHILADELPHIA – [September 24, 2026] — The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) announced today a $3 million commitment from the Gregory and EJ Milken Foundation, to establish the Milken Endowed Scholarship for Education Entrepreneurship Fund. The gift will create permanent scholarship support for students in Penn GSE's Education Entrepreneurship, M.S.Ed. program to attract and develop the next generation of education entrepreneurs, innovators, and changemakers.
“Education entrepreneurship plays a vital role in advancing new ideas, technologies, and approaches that can improve learning and expand opportunity,” says Katharine O. Strunk, Dean of Penn GSE and the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education. “The Milken family has been a longstanding champion of Penn GSE’s leadership in education entrepreneurship, encouraging our faculty and students to pursue bold ideas that can transform education. This extraordinary gift will open doors for talented students to explore innovative and entrepreneurial opportunities regardless of their financial circumstances, while strengthening Penn GSE’s ability to cultivate the next generation of education innovators. We are deeply grateful to Gregory and EJ Milken for their generosity, partnership, and shared commitment to expanding what is possible in education.”
The Education Entrepreneurship program is the world’s first master’s degree program focused on combining education, business, and innovation to address critical challenges in learning. Launched in 2014, this year-long, hybrid executive program utilizes on-campus/online weekends and summer intensives, allowing professionals to work full-time while pursuing their degrees. In this program, faculty from Penn GSE, Wharton, Weitzman School of Design, and Penn Engineering teach students to launch, scale, and sustain solutions for K-12, higher education, workforce development, and educational technology. Graduates have launched more than 500 ventures.
"As a venture capitalist, I have seen the how an entrepreneurial mindset can unlock opportunities," says Penn GSE board member Gregory Milken. "EJ and I have witnessed first hand how expanding educational opportunity through innovation and leadership has been instrumental in changing outcomes. Penn GSE's Education Entrepreneurship program is helping to develop leaders who will bring fresh ideas and commitment to education, and we are honored to support these amazing individuals who have dedicated their life’s work to make a lasting difference in their communities."
About the Gregory and EJ Milken Foundation
Gregory A. Milken, C’95, serves on the Penn GSE Board of Advisors. Gregory and EJ are philanthropists and business leaders whose work has focused on expanding opportunity through education, health, and community initiatives. Their foundation’s primary mission is to support education initiatives through strategic grants and partnerships.
About Penn GSE
The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education is one of the world's leading schools of education. Penn GSE prepares visionary educators, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders to address the most pressing challenges in education and improve outcomes for learners of all ages. Through innovative programs, interdisciplinary scholarship, and deep partnerships, Penn GSE advances education for a changing world.
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