Miles College is set to open an innovation center this fall aimed at bringing together entrepreneurs and researchers from around the state.
Officials said the program, called the “2150 Innovation, Commercialization and Growth Center,” will serve as an innovation incubator.
Miles College President Bobby Knight said the center will be a collaborative space with other educational institutions, particularly historically black colleges and universities.
“We stand at the intersection of purpose and prosperity, embracing tradition and innovation as we drive the university forward for the next 50 years,” Knight said in a statement announcing the initiative. “We are poised to build a world-class space for researchers and founders, thought leaders and practitioners, businesses and academia.”
The new center will be led by Erskine “Chuck” Fausch, who was recently appointed Miles College’s chief innovation and growth officer and the center’s founder in residence.
Fausch said the center will further existing efforts to support Alabama’s HBCU ecosystem in attracting entrepreneurial talent and venture investment.
“We will launch collaborations that improve economic outcomes by connecting our unified community and creating synergies to attract and retain talent, advance workforce development, support researchers and founders, and drive economic empowerment,” he said.
The 2150 Center will partner with stakeholders from the public, private and education sectors, including Southern Research.
“The strength of our public-private partnership, especially working with Miles, will expand our reach and maximize our economic impact across the state,” said Josh Carpenter, CEO of Southern Research.
The center is part of a series of expansions of the university’s academic offerings to include additional degrees and graduate programs for the first time in the university’s 126-year history, officials announced this week.
Miles College is expanding its footprint and adding new programs in the midst of a move to purchase the recently closed campus of Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, for which Miles College recently signed a letter of intent to compete.
Miles is a private, liberal arts, historically black college affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church. The college is located in Fairfield, just west of Birmingham.
Miles and Alabama A&M University are in fierce competition to buy the Birmingham-Southern land. Huntsville-based Alabama A&M has responded by increasing its offer to buy the land to a total of $65.5 million.
Fausch, who served as chief of staff to former Birmingham Mayor William Bell and more recently served as an executive officer for Southern Company of Chicago, called his return to Birmingham a welcome homecoming both personally and professionally.
Fausch, a University of Alabama graduate, said his first job was at Miles College, where he served as special assistant to then-President Albert Sloan.
