“Entrepreneurship is not a solo venture,” says Terry Chase, executive director of the newly established Cohen Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “It takes the support of multiple parties and that is the role that the CCEI is designed to fulfill.”
Formed in 2025 as a result of a transformative gift by the Cohen Family and the Benco Family Foundation, the CCEI aspires to be a hub for connecting the Wilkes community with experts in a variety of fields so that ideas can become a reality. The center will be dedicated officially during Homecoming Weekend with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Oct. 3, at 4 p.m. at the South Street entrance of the Ron and Rhea Simms Center on Main.
“The excitement is palpable,” says Chase, who admires the entrepreneurial spirit she’s already observed across campus in bringing the project to life. “Everyone is pitching in and soon, Wilkes will have a place where students can investigate their future or current ventures. Having the support of the Cohen Family is essential and well-timed.”
Chase, originally from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was motivated to return to the region (especially to experience four seasons again) and drawn to Wilkes by the opportunity to start a center like CCEI, knowing that she’d have a hand in building it from the ground up. “CCEI feels like a missing piece – there are so many great student experiential learning events and faculty bringing innovation to the University, but CCEI can take things to the next level. It’s a place where current and future entrepreneurs can gain support.”
Providing that support is what Chase is most passionate about. She has previously led several companies and served as a business advisor at Texas A&M’s Engineering Experiment Station Advanced Energy Incubator, an Innovation Corps instructor for the National Science Foundation and director of the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. She has also led consulting projects for startups, biotechnology companies, nonprofit organizations, universities and entities engaged in agricultural technology and energy acceleration.
“Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking,” says Chase, a patented inventor who holds master’s degrees in technology management as well as finance and accounting from the University of Maryland Global Campus and a bachelor’s degree in life sciences from the University of Maryland. “In my experience, you don’t have to be a business major to benefit from it. Supporting entrepreneurs in all stages and encouraging insights from entrepreneurial thinking can benefit so many, no matter their career paths.”
In her new role as executive director, Chase plans that all campus community members find value in the dedicated spaces, expert perspectives and real-world insights CCEI hopes to provide while collaborating with the co-located Small Business Development Center, Family Business Alliance and Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.
Students can expect the center to offer places to meet and investigate current or future ventures both in the Simms Center on Main and Stark Learning Center, along with resources that can help them in any stage of their entrepreneurial journeys. The center will be open to all students, regardless of major.
“There’s always an opportunity to bring real-life experience and insight into what entrepreneurs are doing right now so that students can start applying that in and out of the classroom,” says Chase, who has advised entrepreneurs at all stages. “Some of the tools being used in real life scenarios aren’t common across all college campuses, so being able to bring those tools and teachings to students is something CCEI is strategically positioned to do.”
Planned events include entrepreneur office hours, invited guest speakers, competitions, challenges and the opportunity to engage in innovation ecosystem research, which studies the government entities, individuals, companies and other players that work together to address shared challenges while supporting new ventures.
“Innovation ecosystems present a unique opportunity for Wilkes as this is something that states or regions will do,” says Chase. “Through this work, we’ll bring together many different departments around campus, ranging from sustainability and biology to business and engineering.”
In addition to mentoring students through all aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship, the center will support faculty with their innovations and act as a matchmaker for those seeking partnerships for grants or other initiatives.
“The work is already happening,” says Chase, noting that Wilkes has a strong foundation for entrepreneurship and innovation. “Now, we’ll get to build something even better together.”