Wilkes University’s commitment to recognizing the importance of entrepreneurial thinking, creativity and innovation will now have an even bigger impact through a $1.5 million leadership gift from the Cohen Family. The Cohen Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI) will be fully integrated into the academic portfolio of the College of Business and Engineering and serve as the driving force for curriculum development around these concepts. As a result, Wilkes students will gain valuable, hands-on experience and small businesses will receive tools and resources to aid in their success.
“Through the generosity of the Cohen Family, this Center will allow the University to transform the way entrepreneurship and innovation are taught at Wilkes and promoted in our region,” said President Greg Cant.
In partnership with the Small Business Development Center and Family Business Alliance, now located in the Simms Center on Main, the CCEI will offer services to support regional businesses, social-purpose organizations and the start-up community.
“While we recognize that the support of Larry Cohen ’57 and the Cohen Family is best reflected in the University’s Lawrence and Sally Cohen Science Center, a $35 million, 72,500 square-foot interdisciplinary science facility built in 2013, we see an equally impactful opportunity as we transform students’ ideas into realities through work that will be done through the CCEI.”
The dual spaces for the CCEI will be located in the Simms Center and the Stark Learning Center.
Members of the Cohen Family have been longtime supporters of Wilkes University’s mission, vision and values. Currently, the Cohen Family owns and operates Benco Dental, a company started by Larry Cohen’s father in the 1930s. Larry has worked closely with his sons to build Benco into the nation’s largest family-owned dental distributor, serving dentists from coast to coast. And as business owners, the Cohen family embraces the entrepreneurial spirit and understands the value when an idea comes to life.
“While a college student, my son, Benjamin, founded proton.ai, a software company in a student-tech incubator, and the support he received from the staff and his fellow student-entrepreneurs was invaluable,” said Chuck Cohen, Larry Cohen’s son and managing director of Benco Dental and vice chair of Wilkes University’s board of trustees. “Our goal is to turn this Center into a tech incubator for northeastern Pennsylvania where Wilkes students receive the support they need to pursue their passions, while creating new, world-changing businesses.”
The family’s support also extends to service with the University, as Larry served on the University’s board of trustees for 14 years. He was granted trustee emeritus status in 2008, given the University’s highest honor of the President’s Medal in 2018 and bestowed an honorary degree from Wilkes University in 2023.
“Please join me in congratulating and thanking the members of the Cohen Family on this remarkable gift as we invest in the mission, vision and values of Wilkes University,” said Cant. “In the coming months, we will invite the Wilkes community to join us in formally thanking the Cohen Family with a ribbon cutting.”
