Drury names Edward Jones center interim director

Drury University has dipped into the world of real estate to find the interim director of the Edward Jones Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Realtor John Schnoebelen takes over leadership of the center from Dawn Hiles, who became Drury's dean of admissions Sept. 8.

Schnoebelen, a St. Louis native, has been in Springfield for 10 years, working most recently as a commercial real estate broker. Schnoebelen, however, is also an entrepreneur; he is founder of Launch NPD, a new-product development company that has worked on items ranging from a nationally sold painters' tape to Taste of the Hill sauces and salad dressings, sold in nearly 400 stores in the Midwest.

"Entrepreneurship is my passion, my profession and my hobby," Schnoebelen said in a news release.

Schnoebelen takes over Oct. 12 as head of the Edward Jones center, founded in 2007 to give potential entrepreneurs necessary skills and knowledge to launch new ventures. During the search process, which is expected to take six to 12 months, Schnoebelen is charged with expanding existing programs, promoting college entrepreneurship and identifying national niches for the center.

Drury President Todd Parnell and other key stakeholders including the Board of Trustees and Edward Jones will conduct the replacement search.