EMMITSBURG, Md., April 11, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Mount St. Mary's University Interim President Tim Trainor announced today that successful
alumni Paul Palmieri and
Diane Loiello Palmieri will donate
$1 million to establish the Palmieri
Center for Entrepreneurship - an innovative student resource that
will provide students with skills, mentorship and experiences vital
to entrepreneurship. The center will open later this year after
hiring a director and will provide students with co-curricular
experiences such as workshops, exclusive networking and mentorship,
innovative startup immersion, and business plan competitions.
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"Diane and I are grateful for the educational experiences
Mount St. Mary's has provided our
family for three generations," said Paul
Palmieri, class of '92, who is also a member of the
university's board of trustees. "We believe the Mount is the
perfect place to establish the center because it has a rich history
of graduates who have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs -
it's in the university's DNA."
The center seeks to integrate real-world entrepreneurial skills
across all disciplines. "Individuals who take risk to find new
horizons - for industry, the arts, the sciences - are all
entrepreneurs," said Diane Loiello Palmieri, class of '83.
"All students can benefit from the risk-taking skills, activities
and design thinking that lead to entrepreneurial
accomplishment."
"We are extremely excited about the Palmieri Center for
Entrepreneurship and grateful for the generosity and innovative
ideas of the Palmieris," said Trainor. "Through the center,
students will have access to hands-on, experiential learning
opportunities, testing their ideas and gathering feedback in real
situations. It's truly a program for those interested in changing
the world."
"Entrepreneurs are the backbone of Maryland's economy," said Maryland Commerce
Secretary Mike Gill. "Through the
Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship, generations of Mount St. Mary's students – those with an idea, a
dream, a goal – will learn the skills and gain the expertise they
need to succeed. Paul and Diane
Palmieri's generous donation is indeed an investment in the
future of these students and ultimately, in the future of our
state."
The Palmieri Center for Entrepreneurship will provide
interdisciplinary, co-curricular programs focused on
entrepreneurship. The university is developing both a major and
minor in entrepreneurship that will provide novel programming and a
practical approach to venture development, innovation and design
thinking. The center will challenge and embolden all students
regardless of their major to develop the skills and resources
necessary to achieve their goals.
The Palmieris have had an entrepreneurial mindset for decades.
Diane Loiello Palmieri has held
positions across the fields of marketing and advertising, and
currently sits on the board of the American Red Cross. Paul Palmieri is credited with helping to
develop and establish the beginnings of the mobile internet, as
well as the app economy. He was the co-founder, chairman and CEO of
Millennial Media, the leading independent mobile advertising
platform, which he grew from startup through its public offering on
the New York Stock Exchange. He is currently a general partner at
Grit Capital, an early stage venture capital firm that he
co-founded.
About Mount St. Mary's
University
Mount St. Mary's
University is a private, liberal arts, Catholic university
in the Catoctin Mountains near historic Emmitsburg, Maryland, with a satellite campus
in Frederick, Maryland's second
largest city. The university offers more than 40 majors, minors,
concentrations and special programs for traditional undergraduate
students, and 17 adult undergraduate and graduate level
programs.
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SOURCE Mount St. Mary’s University