Alvernia and Kutztown universities partner to enhance entrepreneurship, redevelopment in Reading

Alvernia University’s O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship and Kutztown University’s Small Business Development Center have teamed up to advance entrepreneurship and the redevelopment of downtown Reading.

The universities will work together to encourage students, faculty, staff and community members to develop and operate progressive, future-based businesses. Entrepreneurs will be educated on the nature of free enterprise and will benefit through curriculum and experience-based activities that will enhance the regional economic climate.

“Collaboration is the cornerstone for the Reading CollegeTowne model, and working together, colleges and universities are stronger, particularly in securing funding to support academic programming and community engagement,” said Alvernia President John R. Loyack. “This partnership with Kutztown and the Small Business

Development Center is a wonderful example of the positive economic impact Berks County higher education institutions can have on the revitalization of downtown Reading.”

Alvernia announced Reading CollegeTowne, a strategic model for economic development in downtown Reading in December. It assumed ownership on June 30 of a building at 401 Penn Street, which it plans to renovate to include classrooms and labs, loft-style student housing, eating facilities, retail outlets and other operations.

The building, formerly home to I-Lead Charter School, will serve as the centerpiece of the CollegeTowne initiative, and will house a student-centered business incubator to be run by the O’Pake Institute in partnership with other organizations, including Kutztown’s SBDC, SCORE Berks Schuylkill Chapter and Lehigh Valley Angel Investors.

Those and other partnerships will form a framework of economic groups that will work together to promote entrepreneurship and business growth, explained Dr. Rodney Ridley, associate provost and vice president and chief executive officer for the O’Pake Institute.

“The ever-growing O’Pake partnership network and collaboration between Berks County’s higher education institutions will make Reading and southeastern Pennsylvania an attractive location for entrepreneurs,” Ridley said.

Sonya Smith, associate state direct of program and policy at the Pennsylvania SBDC who is working with Kutztown University’s SBDC, applauded the partnership.

“The joint partnership of universities and community organizations create pathways for students to valuable experiential learning by supporting startups and established businesses in our community,” Smith said. “There are a variety of motivators for encouraging student community involvement, including promoting civic engagement, student learning/real-world experience and a service tool for community organizations. With this new agreement, we at the Kutztown University SBDC are focused on seeing this model through fruition, for the betterment of the students, our small business community, the downtown Reading area and both Alvernia and Kutztown University’s commitment to this initiative.”