Centennial Campus’s first Living Learning Village will open in the fall of 2014, the University announced Monday.
The Andy and Jane Albright Entrepreneurs Living Learning Village will be home to the Entrepreneurship Initiative, Entrepreneur Living Village and residents of Centennial’s Wolf Ridge Apartments. Kevin Howell, interim vice chancellor for University Advancement, made the announcement to attendees of the Entrepreneurs Initiative’s semi-annual Entrepreneurs Lecture Series. The News & Observer reported a $500,000 grant from the Albrights allowed the EI to build the village.
Andy and Jane Albright also sponsored the lecture series, which featured Aly Khalifa as its speaker. The new village is not only the first to originate on Centennial Campus, but also the first named village to be privately funded.
Andy Albright is an N.C. State alumnus who has made a career as an entrepreneur. Albright is currently president and CEO of National Agents Alliance, an insurance marketing firm with agencies located across the United States, offering a variety of financial services products. National Agents Alliance started in 2002 when Albright co-founded the company with Philip Hudgins and Barry Clarkson. Albright was appointed NAA’s CEO in 2006.
Albright continues to be active at the University, and he currently serves on the Entrepreneurs Initiative advisory board. Albright was also keynote speaker of the lecture series in 2011.
Khalifa, also an N.C. State alumnus and entrepreneur, was the keynote speaker Monday. Khalifia is a co-founder and owner of Design Box LLC in Raleigh, which is home to seven consulting design firms including his own Gamil Design.
“N.C. State paved the way for my career of innovation,” Khalifia said.
Khalifa spoke about his time as an undergraduate at the University and about how his experiences influenced his career as an entrepreneur and designer. He said that one of the highlights of his time as student was designing the logo for N.C. State’s Wolfline his sophomore year.
Khalifa’s said much of his career has been dedicated to social entrepreneurship.
“It’s a mystery to many of us,” Khalifa said. “Social entrepreneurship is transformation … we can’t just keep counting beans and say we are making progress. We need to make change.”
Among Khalifa’s numerous projects that have earned him more than 16 patents and a Grammy nomination is a new kind of shoe. With the growing number of women abroad delivering children with birth defects do to the chemicals of glue used to make our shoes, Khalifia saw a solution: completely sewn shoes. The project is in its infancy, but Khalifa said he hopes that in the near future the shoe industry returns to the country.
Khalifa received a B.S. in product design engineering in 1993. His degree was his own creation which he used to specialize in mechanical engineering of products.
Howell said the University continues to be dedicated to students’ success as entrepreneurs and that the new village is one among many things in the University’s strategic plan to foster student success.
“The University gives you tools to take your passion further,” said Nehemiah Mabry, a graduate student in civil engineering and in the Entrepreneurship Initiative program.
Mabry who is starting up his own company said he accredits the program to how far he has come.
