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Fran Jabara, a former professor at Wichita State University and influential Wichita businessman, died Saturday morning at the age of 90, said a representative of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary, where services are pending.
Jabara founded the Center for Entrepreneurship at the university and co-founded the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs. He founded Jabara Ventures Group, a merchant banking and private equity company and created VentureKids in 1991, an entrepreneurship program for minority fifth-grade students.
In 1996, WSU dedicated Jabara Hall to him and established the Professor Fran Jabara Endowed Scholarship in Entrepreneurship. Among his many awards, he received the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and was inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame in 2007.
Jabara founded the Center for Entrepreneurship at the university and co-founded the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs. He founded Jabara Ventures Group, a merchant banking and private equity company and created VentureKids in 1991, an entrepreneurship program for minority fifth-grade students.
In 1996, WSU dedicated Jabara Hall to him and established the Professor Fran Jabara Endowed Scholarship in Entrepreneurship. Among his many awards, he received the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and was inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame in 2007.