Rutgers Names New Leader of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development
Rutgers Business School Newark/New Brunswick has chosen Brick City Development Corp. (BCDC) CEO Lyneir Richardson to lead the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development. He will assume his new role at Rutgers on March 3.
The BCDC is the economic development organization for the city of Newark, New Jersey. BCDC Board member Richard Roper said that Lyneir Richardson performed crucial work for the organization. He helped negotiate financing, grants, bonds, and loans for the BCDC, and also aggressively sought small businesses and minority-owned companies that needed gap funding to develop. Richardson’s contributions to the general growth of Newark have been incalculable. Roper told NJ Biz: “”Most of economic development activity that has taken place in the last four years, BCDC has had a hand in and Lyneir has guided us.”
Richardson spent four years as CEO of BCDC advocating for urban revitalization in Newark. While leading the Rutgers Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, he plans to continue his urban development work. Richardson observes “I’m not leaving the city or leaving the work. I’m taking a different seat at the table.” He thinks that Rutgers Business School is the best place to pursue the next phase of his development work: strengthening neighborhoods by connecting residents with area resources.
Rutgers’ Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development combines academic research with resources from public and nonprofit sectors and private capital to support urban revitalization in Newark. Richardson is optimistic about the center’s future role in urban revitalization: “I see the center for urban entrepreneurship at the same place as BCDC when I got here. It has the resources and the credibility. The task is to make it more impactful. Now make something happen.”
