Professor ellen dutton

About Professor Dutton

Professor Ellen Dutton is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Curriculum, a Capstone Advisor, the Manager of Startup Programming for the ESTEEM Graduate Program at the University of Notre Dame and most importantly, a leader in entrepreneurship and innovation. Before becoming a professor at Notre Dame, she spent nearly 30 years at Whirlpool Corporation, where she developed new products, led global teams, and drove consumer-focused innovation. Throughout her career, she has not only been an entrepreneurial leader but also created opportunities for others through mentorship, high school student programs, and community service. Today, she helps aspiring entrepreneurs develop the skills needed to become innovative leaders.

My Reflection

Before speaking with Professor Dutton, I associated the term “innovation” with designing new products. Our conversation completely changed that term for me, and what the most influential type of innovation is: opportunity. Professor Dutton described innovation as the ability to recognize opportunities that would encourage high schoolers to be forces for good in their societies, whether through education or mentorship. 

What stood out most to me was how Professor Dutton measured her success. Rather than viewing her 30+ years at Whirlpool and career as a professor at Notre Dame as personal achievements, she measures them in who she helped along the way, and how she can keep being a “Force for Good Amplifier”. From creating a high school innovation program in her small town in Michigan to mentoring graduate students and future entrepreneurs at Notre Dame, Professor Dutton is consistently invested in helping others succeed by equipping them with the tools to be impact-driven innovators and leaders. 

As I continue exploring journalism, entrepreneurship, and discovering my future home for the next four years, this conversation will remind me that meaningful careers are built through intellectual curiosity, service, and being a force for good. Professor Dutton taught me that to be a leader, you don’t just climb the ladder in your career or in your community, you create an opportunity for others to climb ladders too. 

Three Lessons

• True impact creates a “ripple effect”, inspiring others to be forces for good and leading you down paths you wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to explore. 

• Success is measured in the impact that you leave behind in the world to help others succeed, not how you succeeded yourself. 

• Consistently taking risks and building intellectual curiosity are important in order to take advantage of education and be successful in your career. 

The Need She Saw

Throughout her career, Professor Dutton recognized simple needs in peoples’ lives for products like a handheld mixer, but wireless and with a flat bottom so that your batter wouldn’t drip everywhere. These little needs that she was able to identify prepared her for the greatest need she saw: opportunity for young people to be change-makers. Professor Dutton saw a need to prepare young people to think creatively, be curious, and lead with confidence. Beyond her career as a professor, she built programs that allowed students to experience entrepreneurship first hand.