George Mason names associate VP of innovation and economic development

George Mason University announced Tuesday that Paula Sorrell, the director of the University of Michigan’s Economic Growth Institute, will become the associate vice president of innovation and economic development effective May 1.

Mason recently created its School of Computing and Institute for InnovAtion (IDIA) in preparation for Amazon.com Inc.’s East Coast arrival. In her new role, Sorrell will lead the $250 million transformation of the university’s Arlington campus and oversee the Mason Innovation Exchange, the Office of Tech Transfer and the Mason enterprise center. She will also work on innovation programming and collaborations with other universities.

Aside from her duties at the Economic Growth Institute, which leads economic development programming and applied research, Sorrell teaches undergraduate and master’s classes at Michigan’s College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship. She has also served as vice president for entrepreneurship, innovation and venture capital for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and sits on several tech entrepreneurship-focused nonprofit organizations. 

She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in marketing and marketing management from Central Michigan University.