The J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Entrepreneurship Program opens a new website recently opened a new space in the Innovation Depot to a standing-room-only crowd, placing Collat students in the heart of Birmingham's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
UAB President Ray Watts spoke at the space’s Nov. 29 open house launch, calling it “extraordinary” and key to supporting the university’s mission.
The reconfigurable space features hi-tech equipment designed for outreach and performance, and will be used regularly by students in Collat’s burgeoning entrepreneurship program. It will house classes, workshops, meetings, events, retreats, filming/recording, and more.
Patrick J. Murphy, Goodrich Endowed Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and director of the Barefield Entrepreneurship Program, said the space would not be possible without the support of the UAB community, Collat’s generous supporters and strategic partners, and Birmingham’s outstanding entrepreneurs.
“We would not have hit this milestone without all of them,” he said. “Our mission inspires us to strive for world-class excellence in all of our work to best serve our local community, cultivating students and future entrepreneurs, serving current entrepreneurs, and making a positive impact on the ecosystem while elevating and including everyone.”
Learn more about Collat’s entrepreneurship major opens a new website and why it was named the top emerging program in the country by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE).