Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Bozzuto Center Dedicated

Hobart and William Smith officially dedicated the Bozzuto Center for Entrepreneurship in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October. The Center was endowed in 2017 with a $3 million gift from Chair of the Board of Trustees Thomas S. Bozzuto '68 L.H.D.'18, his wife Barbara M. Bozzuto and their family.

Chairman and co-founder of The Bozzuto Group, one of the most prominent real estate services companies in the country, Bozzuto has spent more than 45 years building tens of thousands of homes and apartments. He spoke directly to students in the crowd for a portion of his remarks, noting that "you're going to need to be able to identify opportunities to allow yourself to advance your career. You're going to need pragmatic confidence to take the risks necessary to succeed. I believe you can learn all of that here."

The Center, which occupies three floors and more than 7,000 square feet at 22 Castle St., features classrooms, discussion spaces, workspaces and meeting areas for the Colleges' Entrepreneurial Studies Program as well as Centennial Center cocurricular programs.

Thomas Drennen, professor of economics and chair of the environmental studies department and entrepreneurial studies program, delivered remarks at the ceremony, as did HWS students Albert Smith Jr. '19, coordinator for the student work team at the Bozzuto Center, and Chloe Emler '20, a member of the Center's student advisory board. "This space is transforming the ways in which we approach entrepreneurial studies at HWS," said Drennen. "On behalf of the faculty, students and staff who benefit from the space every day, I'd like to thank Tom Bozzuto and his family for their thoughtfulness and generosity."

Founded in 2015, the Entrepreneurial Studies Program emphasizes 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. The popularity of the program among students has made it the largest minor at the Colleges.

Additional funding for the Bozzuto Center was provided by New York State's Empire State Development Corporation, HWS Trustee Will '92 and Colleen Margiloff for the creation of the Margiloff Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Fellow, and the Grayson Family for programming and renovation, with additional support provided by the City of Geneva.