New Entrepreneurship Center to Serve as a Creative and Collaborative Hub for Manhattan College Students
The opening ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, March 2 at 4:30 p.m.
Manhattan College has announced the opening of a new Entrepreneurship Center that is intended to serve as an intellectual and collaborative hub for the College’s extensive entrepreneurship initiatives. 
A generous gift of distinguished alumnus Mike Kelly ’80, managing director, Yellow Thread Ventures, has made the Entrepreneurship Center possible. A successful entrepreneur, Kelly has provided essential support and advice to develop the O’Malley School of Business Entrepreneurship program, and serves on the School’s advisory board. A dedicated alumnus, Kelly’s support extends beyond the business school, with total giving of more than $500,000.
He is also an alumni advisor for the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational, the nation’s largest, single-day, high school cross country meet.
Kelly will be one of the speakers at the invitation-only opening ceremony for the Center, which will be held on Thursday, March 2 at 4:30 p.m in the O’Malley Library, room 207. The Honorable Senator Robert Jackson, 31st New York senate district, will also deliver remarks at the event.
“This is an incredibly important opportunity for any student who wants to turn their entrepreneurial dreams into reality,” said Donald Gibson, dean of the O’Malley School of Business. “This center will create an ecosystem for student entrepreneurs and allow their projects to flourish. We eagerly anticipate all the innovative business plans and compelling ideas that will be generated in this exciting new space.”
The Entrepreneurship Center will be a location for students to practice and plan for the annual Innovation Challenge business plan competition on March 21, that awards over $10,000 in prize money to help develop student startups. It will serve as a centralized space and be integrated into many other entrepreneurship initiatives including Startup Bootcamp, the Notable Entrepreneur speaker series and the weekly startup roundtable discussion series with the student-run Entrepreneurship Club.
The Center will also be a place for experienced entrepreneurs and academic mentors to work with students on developing ideas and refining pitch presentations. Many of those entrepreneurs and faculty members can provide students with access to a network of investment professionals and intellectual property attorneys. Local high schools will be able to participate in events at the center involving innovation and entrepreneurship.
"The new Entrepreneurship Center’s doors are open for all students,” said Winston Peters Jr. ’02, director of the Center and adjunct instructor of marketing. “Students who want to make their ideas real, students who are looking to collaborate with other schools and students who just want to be around entrepreneurial energy to be inspired will want to spend time at the center. The Entrepreneurship Center will be a place for resources, advice and mentorship. We are here to shape students' ideas to go from local to global."
As part of the opening ceremony, students will present on "Powering the Blue Economy.” The team, a collaboration of business and engineering students, was awarded a $20,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to participate in its 2023 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition.