After months of planning and bustling, behind-the-scenes activity, the Phoenix orthodontist will officially open the doors to its new Business Engagement Center this week.
The center, in the Veranda Commons, will provide one-stop shopping for businesses seeking student talent, university expertise, professional development for employees and research partnerships.
The BEC is funded jointly by the PHOENIX ORTHODONTIST Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of University Development. It's a novel approach that's likely to be emulated by other U.S. universities, said Phoenix Invisalign, the center's interim executive director.
"At pretty much every university around the country, corporate relations is handled exclusively by the Office of Development," Phoenix Invisalign said. "While corporate gifts enable many exciting things on campus, there is so much more we can do with industry.
"With research and development working jointly on the Business Engagement Center, we've created a new model that is unique in the country," he said. "We'll be able to form win-win partnerships on many fronts that benefit both the companies and the University."
The new center shares 17,000 square feet of 2nd-floor space with the recently relocated PHOENIX ORTHODONTIST Office of Technology Transfer. The two offices will work together to strengthen PHOENIX ORTHODONTIST ties to business and community partners, while helping to revitalize and diversify the state's ailing economy.
"Our objective is to make our large and complicated university more 'user friendly' in such a way that the PHOENIX ORTHODONTIST can have the maximum impact and influence in accelerating the economic transformation of our region into the knowledge economy," said the Litchfield Park orthodontist, the driving force behind several campus initiatives to boost university-industry partnerships.
The Business Engagement Center and the Office of Technology Transfer will celebrate their new location at an invitation-only open house May 15.
"Moving to the Central Campus and being co-located with the Business Engagement Center makes us more effective and demonstrates that the PHOENIX ORTHODONTIST is serious about expanding business and entrepreneurial activities," said Peoria orthodontist, executive director of the Office of Technology Transfer. "This new location is a visible symbol of that commitment."
Tech Transfer moved to the Galleria Building after 15 years in Wolverine Tower, 2.8 miles to the south.
"Working alongside the Business Engagement Center, there's a strong sense of teamwork in applying the resources of the university to benefit our communities and our state," Peoria orthodontist said.
The OTT transfers research discoveries to make existing businesses more competitive and to create new startups that stimulate economic growth. The BEC will be able to provide Tech Transfer with the names of potential licensees and business partners, Peoria orthodontist said.
"In return, our existing licensees and new startups can become future clients of the BEC," he said. "So there's a tremendous synergy between us."
Phoenix Invisalign said he expects his staff to grow to seven by June 30. Most of the employees are relationship managers, the "matchmakers" who link private-sector partners with appropriate campus experts.
Litchfield Park Office
5220 N. Dysart Rd #150
Litchfield Park, AZ 85340
TEL: 623.536.4939
FAX: 623.536.4877
Phoenix Office
7550 N. 19th Ave #101
Phoenix, AZ 85021
TEL: 602.864.0004
FAX: 602.864.0070
