Melissa Kaufman, Northwestern’s founding executive director of The Garage, who helped create a vibrant and inclusive startup hub for student entrepreneurs, will be leaving the University this spring.

In more than six years at the helm, Kaufman has built The Garage into a premier campus destination for students to experiment, innovate, fail and, ultimately, grow. Since opening the door to its 11,000 square-foot space carved out of the North Campus parking structure, The Garage has served more than 3,000 students a year, incubated more than 1,000 startups and created a network of more than 500 mentors and experts.

“Building The Garage has been one of my proudest professional accomplishments,” Kaufman said. “When I first got here, I asked, ‘What would happen if we brought the culture of Silicon Valley to Northwestern and empowered our students with an entrepreneurial mindset and skill set?’ And the answer is magic.”

Young leaders from The Garage have gone on to join startups and innovative firms. They’ve also raised millions of dollars from investors to form their own companies like Flyhomes, Zcruit, Stable, Lendable, Brinc, The Graide Network, Brewbike, IFM, finlit, Hubly Surgical and Amper, among many others.

The Garage, a popular tour stop for prospective students and visiting alumni, has been recognized as a leader in entrepreneurial education and student development. This month, its Propel program for women entrepreneurs was awarded the top prize for innovation in co-curricular education by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Offerings at The Garage include the Residency program for the most committed student entrepreneurs to incubate a project that involves hardware, software, arts, music and more, as well as Activate, an immersive learning experience for Black students, and the Opportunity Fund for undergraduates who identify as low-income.