Appleton — A junior at Lawrence University, Nico Manzanera said he always thought there was a piece missing when it came to his university’s ability to connect to the surrounding Appleton business community.
Manzanera, a business and entrepreneurship major, said the university’s new Business & Entrepreneurship Center fills in that last piece.
“So that’s what excites me here,” Manzanera told The Post-Crescent during the center’s ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday in Fox Commons.
The center, located on the second floor of the 180,000-square-foot complex at 10 W. College Ave., features a multi-purpose room, a finance lab, and a group of study and meeting spaces.
The setup enables students pursuing business and entrepreneurship to study and work collaboratively, but also explore job opportunities and immerse themselves in social and networking events.
“If we are successful, we will see more of our talented students from all over the world join our Fox Valley community as interns, employees and founders,” said Adam Galambos, a professor of innovation at Lawrence University who also leads the center. “Universities are often key contributors to the most successful innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.”
The center is a key investment from the university, after the launch of the new business and entrepreneurship major two years ago, a response to the need for cocurricular activities and the need for innovation and connection with the community, said Galambos.
Karen Bussone, professor of practice in entrepreneurship, told The Post-Crescent her financial management class students like the intimacy of the space if they want to collaborate with three or four classmates on analyzing publicly traded companies, despite a limited number of computers in the lab.
Bussone joined the faculty a little over a year ago, and said her students are equipped with better tools to search financial databases, with two monitors set up for each computer. Before the opening of the finance lab, her students only took computers to the class on campus, she added.
Manzanera is also a resident of Fox Commons — he moved in in September and is among 85 students living on the second floor.
“I wake up, shower and come here,” he said. “I feel like we’re very close to everybody here. I feel like we’re close to the people that work in Fox Valley.”
He said the space provides opportunities for students to meet people, network and find jobs.
Lawrence University has partnered with gener8tor, a startup accelerator, in the hope of working with students and faculty and supporting an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Fox Valley.
The Fox Commons will eventually be home to more than 170 Lawrence students. The apartments on the third floor will open in summer 2025, and will house 88 students.
The first floor will be occupied by Mosaic Family Health, Prevea Health, gener8tor and The Wild Goose Exchange. In addition to the apartment and health care and wellness services, it is also marketed as retail space, commercial offices, and food and beverage outlets.
Zhen Wang is a business reporter for The Post-Crescent. Reach her at zwang@gannett.com or 920-993-7117.