Ira Riklis still misses Dr. William Zucker, who passed away in 2006. Dr. Zucker was not only his advisor and mentor while he was in graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, but who went on to become a dear, lifelong friend. While many business and economic professors focus on theory and academic learning, Dr. Zucker was well-known and well-appreciated by his students for applying his classroom teachings to real-life situations.
He particularly focused on promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in classes, which included “Entrepreneurial Decision Making and Land Development,” and “Entrepreneurial Inner-City Housing Markets.” The work placed exhaustive requirements on the young, aspiring entrepreneurs who took them. But those who persisted were rewarded for their efforts by gaining a deep theoretical and practical knowledge of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. It was in gratitude for his long relationship with Dr. Zucker that Ira Riklis recently endowed the Dr. William Zucker Entrepreneurial Intern Fellowship so that new generations of students can enjoy similar experiences and successes.