Founded in 1984 with the support of UA alumnus and entrepreneur Karl Eller, the Center—then the Karl Eller Center for the Study of the Private Market Economy—launched a partnership with the University of Arizona Office of Technology Transfer, giving students access to University intellectual assets, including research faculty and university innovation. These sources of discoveries and inventions often form the basis for venture plans developed in the educational programs. 

Historic and groundbreaking institutional partnerships, such as with the Office of Technology Transfer, McGuire learners have access to University intellectual assets, including research faculty and university innovation. These sources of discoveries and inventions often form the basis for venture plans developed in the educational programs.

In the more than 30 years since the center was established, more than 2,000 graduates have gone on to launch hundreds of ventures—often based on the plan they conceived in the program—with many more applying their entrepreneurial skills as a significant competitive advantage in the workplace. 

The center and its capstone teaching program were both renamed in 2003 in recognition of the vice president and director of the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, Christopher McGuire, and his wife, Carol. The McGuires along with the Palm Desert, California-based Berger Foundation and its vice president provided significant financial and personal support to the center and its program.

McGuire Through the Years