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May 30, 2019 – Liberalism

Santa Clara University Receives Gift for the Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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In February, Santa Clara University (SCU) announced plans to expand its existing Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to create a central hub to guide, coordinate, and elevate innovation and entrepreneurship efforts on campus. In support of Santa Clara’s vision for expanding its entrepreneurial efforts, the Charles Koch Foundation’s gift of $4 million accompanies a gift of $7 million from Santa Clara alumna Carlyse Franzia Ciocca ’77 and her husband and founder of the Wine Group, Arthur Ciocca.

The grant will enable SCU to augment existing entrepreneurial programs on campus, such as the social-entrepreneurship programming in Miller Center; the business pitch competition and mentoring at the Leavey School of Business; the virtual- and augmented-reality experimentation underway in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Imaginarium space; the five-year-old Entrepreneurs’ Law Clinic at the School of Law; and the School of Engineering’s prototyping Maker Lab and KEEN collaborative network of college and professors, which champions the entrepreneurial mindset in engineering undergraduate students.

“Principled entrepreneurs find success and fulfillment in helping to improve the lives of others. This approach is at the heart of the Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and we are thrilled to join the Cioccas in supporting Santa Clara University in this endeavor,” said Ryan Stowers, executive vice president of the Charles Koch Foundation.

Read a copy of the grant agreement here and read more about the Ciocca Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship here.