Hobart and William Smith Colleges
IN-25: Innovation B

In fall 2017, Hobart and William Smith Colleges established new classrooms, discussion spaces, workspaces and meeting spaces for entrepreneurial studies at a downtown Geneva facility — now named the Bozzuto Center for Entrepreneurship — which occupies three floors and more than 7,000 square feet on Castle Street.

The goal of the program’s downtown presence is to provide vibrant space for students to develop entrepreneurial ideas in a setting where there can be increased community partnerships. The program, which is chaired by Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies Thomas Drennen, relies on face-to-face interactions with area business and community leaders, making the downtown location an ideal a hub for the Colleges’ programming around entrepreneurship, leadership and community development.

As the Entrepreneurial Studies curriculum intersects with other HWS academic offerings, the new space will support related programs like the Centennial Center’s Idea Lab, Innovation Academy and the Stu Lieblein ’90 Pitch Contest. And also houses office space for the Colleges’ Margiloff Family Entrepreneurial Fellow, who is developing academic programming that collaborates across campus and with external stakeholders and entrepreneurs.

In Geneva, entrepreneurship is of strategic importance to the city’s economic development. For the downtown, the Colleges’ decision also holds the promise of an economic boost, and vital for growth and sustainable development.

The Entrepreneurial Studies Program at HWS was founded in 2015 with an emphasis on preparing students with the conceptual understanding, practical skills and ethical structure necessary for business or civic leadership. Students explore and hone the analytical and critical thinking skills of a liberal arts education while pursuing projects and coursework focused on creating non-profit or for-profit enterprises, or leading innovation within existing organizations.

In 2012, when the Colleges began making annual payments to Geneva to aid the city in balancing the budget, 70 staff members relocated downtown in what was the single largest influx of employees into the City of Geneva in recent history. HWS currently leases more than 18,000 square feet of space on Seneca Street, which remains privately owned and on the tax rolls, as will the property on Castle Street.

Thanks to the generosity of Chair of the Board of Trustees Thomas S. ’68 and Barbara M. Bozzuto and their family, the endowed Center seeks to sustain the future of Hobart and William Smith Colleges through academic innovation.

Students who have participated in entrepreneurial programs at HWS in the past have gone on to fund successful businesses that have had an international impact. Examples include Sara Wroblewski ’13 for One Bead, a non-profit that empowers children through leadership programming and partners with glassmakers in Kenya; Ato Bentsi-Enchill ’17 for RevisionPrep, an online educational service for students in Ghana; Andrew King ’14 for SpaceVinyl, a company bridging the gap between design and printing; and most recently, Sam Solomon ’17 for Pizza Posto, a locally sourced pizza food truck that complements the thriving food and drink industry of the Finger Lakes

http://www2.hws.edu/pitch-2018-finalists/