The Future Starts in the Cohen Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Wilkes University’s Cohen Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is transforming how students approach innovation and business creation. Made possible by a $1.5 million gift from the Cohen Family and the Benco Family Foundation, the center provides students with dedicated spaces for collaboration, mentorship opportunities and hands-on learning experiences that bridge academic disciplines.

Since its ribbon-cutting ceremony during Homecoming 2025, the center has become a buzzing and active entrepreneurial hub of activity.

“There was such an energy during that launch event,” says Salma Lampack, a senior business management and marketing major from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “It sort of calls you in and gets the ideas flowing.”

Entrepreneurship and innovation imply a forward-thinking eye, but it’s a look toward the past that inspired the creation of these new campus resources.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for one of the center’s two locations, Chuck Cohen, managing director of Benco Dental and a member of the Wilkes University Board of Trustees, shared his family’s entrepreneurial journey. The story began a century ago when his grandfather sold dental supplies door-to-door before founding Benco Dental. Cohen’s father, Larry Cohen, joined the business in 1959 and discovered innovative ways to compete with larger companies in bigger cities.

“Entrepreneurship is what we do,” Cohen told the gathered crowd. “We’re here today to cut the ribbon on a place where students can come at no charge to fuel not only Wilkes, but greater northeastern Pennsylvania. This is going to be the place where tomorrow’s businesses for northeastern Pennsylvania are born.”

Cohen’s son, Benjamin Cohen, launched successful software startup proton.ai while drawing on the collegiate support he received at Harvard, inspiring the Cohen Family and Benco Family Foundation to make that same support possible for students in their own backyard.

“Current projects by the Cohen and Kirby Scholars focus on a number of subjects and interact with innovators on campus, in the community and around the world,” says Terry Chase, executive director for the center. Scholars are currently working on launching an Entrepreneurship and Robotics Challenge as well as a sustainability program for local small businesses. In addition, several student entrepreneurs will partner with Cohen and Kirby Scholars, the Small Business Development Center and faculty advisors to prepare for business plan competitions this spring.

The center has also been integrated into the curriculum, becoming a regular component of several courses, including engineering and two new courses in entrepreneurship.

“We’re also making an impact through scholarships,” says Chase, noting the center managed the distribution of 14 scholarships for entrepreneurship, including Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship awards and eight Cohen Research Scholars.

Beyond structured programming, students have the opportunity to meet regularly with the center to discuss their innovations and entrepreneurial ventures.

Each week, there are regular entrepreneur office hours and seminars on Wednesdays beginning at 4:30 p.m. rotating between the Ron and Rhea Simms Center on Main and Stark Learning Center. And to better accommodate student schedules, virtual office hours have been added on Fridays, giving students more options to engage and get support for their ideas.

“I wanted purpose,” says Lampack, of what inspired her to engage the center’s resources and begin her first entrepreneurial venture.

“I knew I wanted to branch out and apply my skills to help my community,” says Lampack, who emerged as a student leader at Wilkes through her work as a resident assistant and Honors student. “I came into the center with an idea and a name. It wasn’t until I talked to [Terry Chase] and explored it that I realized I needed focus.”

With support from the center, Lampack founded her own nonprofit, Demeter’s Rescue, in the fall of 2025, focusing on providing emergency menstrual kits to women and girls. “I found out that one out of three adult women struggle with affording menstrual products,” says Lampack. “Originally, I wanted to focus on providing hygiene products to those in need but learning that statistic really made an impact on me.”

As she enters her first year in operation, Lampack is working to raise funds to purchase menstrual kits while planning events and building awareness for the organization and the challenge it hopes to address. She plans to partner with campus clubs and community organizations in the Wilkes-Barre area, as well as distribute kits at Wilkes before branching out to local high schools.

After graduation, Lampack will take Demeter’s Rescue’s work to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she’ll begin a full-time opportunity as a training and development specialist for Fastenal. “The guidance and direction I’ve received has been huge,” says Lampack of the center’s support and mentorship. “From knowing my target audience to knowing how to make it viable, I got the guidance I needed to enhance my idea and take an approach to be specific with what I want to achieve. That means making a nonprofit that has values and a mission that connects with women in Pennsylvania.”

Since its launch, the center has actively engaged the broader community through attending networking events and making direct connections to innovation leaders, regionally and beyond. “The center has submitted grant applications to expand its impact,” says Chase, who also serves as a mentor for the National Science Foundation I-Corps, which helps researchers transition STEM-based innovations into market-ready solutions. Faculty members are currently exploring grant funding opportunities in collaboration with Chase to fund projects.

Local organizations, including the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and InterMetro Industries, have also welcomed the center and Wilkes faculty to engage students in real-world experiences with more opportunities planned.

Abel Adekola, dean of the College of Business and Engineering, highlights the center’s broader impact. “[The center] will undoubtedly transform the way our students learn and engage in intellectual inquiry in what I call a ‘minds-on and hands-on’ approach to education. It is not only our students who will be transformed, but also the city of Wilkes-Barre, as we enrich the workforce through this great generosity of the Cohen family.”

• A research scholar office
• Two collaboration rooms with screens and whiteboards
• A large conference room
• An innovation room with soft seating and worktables for up to 36, featuring a large screen and camera with audio, a large glass whiteboard and magnet wall

“The innovation room is particularly popular for student presentations,” says Chase, adding that several faculty members have begun hosting lectures there. The space is also available for use by student clubs and organizations.

“River innovation is a big focus for the spring,” notes Chase, citing the campus’s close proximity to the Susquehanna River as one of the drivers behind the opportunity to explore how nonprofit organizations, governments, entrepreneurs and communities drive innovation around the use, enjoyment and management of this natural resource.

The Great Bubble Barrier, a Dutch social enterprise that focuses on keeping rivers free from plastic, will visit campus in April for a series of talks on business, entrepreneurship and innovation. Using bubble curtains to capture plastic pollution in rivers, Bubble Barrier technology is currently in use in several locations throughout the Netherlands and Portugal, creating an opportunity for Wilkes students to gain global exposure to innovations solving real-world challenges.

As the Cohen Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation continues to grow, it stands as a testament to the power of philanthropy, vision and community partnership at Wilkes. By providing students with the resources, mentorship and space to explore their entrepreneurial ideas, the center is not just preparing the next generation of business leaders — it’s helping to build the economic future of the region.

Students and community members interested in learning more about the center can visit wilkes.edu/cohencenter.

Meet Terry Chase, Executive Director