Boston College launched the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship on August 31. The center, named after the major donor and founder of California-based home building Shea Homes, will work to help integrate entrepreneurial thinking into the educational and formational experience of both undergraduate and graduate students throughout Boston College. BC will hold an official opening event for the center in November. The key note speaker for the opening event will be Philip Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple, Inc. and BC alumnus.
Jere Doyle, a seasoned entrepreneur, will serve as the center’s inaugural executive director. Doyle has built two start-up companies, Prospectiv and Global Marketing, before founding Doyle Enterprises, a firm that supports start-ups throughout the world. The center, which is part of the Carroll School of Management at BC, will also take an interdisciplinary focus, and allow students in each of the University’s eight schools and colleges to participate in its programs.
The Shea Center was made possible through a generous financial gift to the Light the World campaign from Edmund Shea’s wife, Mary, and their six surviving children. Shea, who had a long distinguished career in the Silicon Valley, backed hundreds of successful start-ups, including Adobe and Compaq Computers. In addition to his start-up funding success, he also co-founded Shea Homes, which is currently one of the nation’s largest privately owned home building companies.
“The Shea Center for Entrepreneurship will raise the profile of the entrepreneurial spirit that exists within our community,” John and Linda Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton said in a press release. The Center will make the Carroll School even better and I look forward to seeing the entrepreneurship ecosystem expand throughout all of Boston College with the Center’s leadership and our students’ energy.”
For more information on the BC Carroll School of Management, visit metromba.com.