Pennovation Center Opening
Penn President Amy Gutmann, and David L. Cohen, chair of Penn’s Board of Trustees, cut the ribbon on the new Pennovation Center, the University’s new hub for innovation and new business ventures at 3401 Grays Ferry Ave.
The highlight of the grand opening celebration brought Gutmann to the main stage in discussion with Penn alums Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa, co-founders and co-CEOs of Warby Parker, which culminated in the ribbon cutting.
Before an audience of more than 1,200 Penn students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and friends, as well as members of the region’s business and tech community, Gutmann said the Pennovation Center and the campus of Pennovation Works offers a window into our future.
The new three-story, 58,000-square-foot Pennovation Center is designed to bring together entrepreneurs and researchers from within the University and from the private sector to explore ideas that will advance knowledge and generate economic development for the city and state. The facility includes a full service business incubator: Penn Center for Innovation’s PCI Ventures, basic wet and dry laboratories; private offices, inventor garages, as well as a coworking space for up to 200 members, operated by Benjamin’s Desk.
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Photographs by Scott Spitzer and Eddy Marenco