Correction (10/16/2015): An earlier copy of this article incorrectly stated that the center was created with $3.6 million in funding. The correct total is nearly $11 million.
Simon School graduate Mark S. Ain ’67MBA and his wife Carolyn Ain, longtime supporters of entrepreneurship and education, have made a $5 million commitment to UR. To recognize the Ains’ collective philanthropy, the Center for Entrepreneurship will be renamed the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship.
University President Joel Seligman wrote in a University press release, “We are deeply grateful to Mark and Carolyn for their continued generous support of entrepreneurship education at the University of Rochester.” Seligman added, “This generous gift will allow us to continue our momentum in building a cutting-edge entrepreneurial program.”
“Mark Ain has been making significant gifts to entrepreneurship education for really the past decade,” Associate Director of the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship Natalie Antal said in a phone interview. She noted that the Ains’ contributions have supported a variety of programs at the Center.
In light of the contributions they have made to the Center for Entrepreneurship, as well as their commitment to the University over the years, UR recently decided that they should rename the Center for Entrepreneurship to recognize the generosity of the Ains.
“He didn’t want it to be called the Mark Ain Center for Entrepreneurship. He wanted it to be called the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship in order to also recognize his wife,” Antal added.
The Center for Entrepreneurship was first established in 2006 after UR received a total of nearly $11 million in funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the University. Former Dean of the Simon Business School Mark Zupan reconnected with Ain, who then became a major contributor to many of the Center’s programs.
“The Center was originally established as a central hub for entrepreneurship programs and events University-wide,” Antal said. “Even though we are physically located in the Simon School, we have always been for students at all levels of studies, and any majors. It doesn’t have to be business or anything like that. Any students that are interested in entrepreneurship can come to see us and learn about our resources.”
Ain earned a master’s degree in business administration, with a concentration in organizational behaviors and marketing, from the Simon School where he learned skills necessary for him to start a company himself. In 1977, he founded Kronos Incorporated, a workforce management company based in Chelmsford, Mass.
Regarding his role as mentor in the young entrepreneurs community, Ain has been devoting himself to the education of young entrepreneurs at UR and helping young people get started with their own businesses. He helped initiate the Mark Ain Business Model Workshop Series and Competition, established in 2007. He later set up scholarship and internship opportunities for Simon School students concentrating in entrepreneurship.
He is also the founder and a supporter of the University of Rochester Student Incubator Program. The program offers free workspace, located in High Tech Rochester, and mentoring services including legal consulting to qualified student businesses.
Ain addressed his goal of providing professional training to people who are interested in starting their own companies, stressing that it is important for the future of the Rochester area and the nation. He said that he views the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship as a continuation of the traditions that UR and prominent entrepreneur George Eastman started long ago.
Ain also gave advice to young people, saying they should take on a thoughtful attitude about what kind of companies they want to run and what kind of products people want to invent. “Be patient for the ideas that come along,” Ain said.
The Ains’ donation will support and bring the Meliora Challenge closer to its fundraising goal. “I think [the Meliora Challenge] is wonderful,” Ain said, “… the future [of the University] looks very bright because of the Meliora Challenge.”
Wang is a member of the class of 2017.
