Ben Franklin Technology Partners Honors Alvernia’s Ridley for Business Vision
From left: (top) Jordan Turner; John Stetler, MS; Adonis Fleming, MA, Nick King; Max Horn, MBA; Logan Minford (bottom) Michelle Conway, MBA; Michael Peffer; Rodney S. Ridley, Sr., Ph.D., RTTP; Caitlin Long, Ph.D.; MSPAS, PA-C; Jack Short
Ridley Receives Frederick J. Beste III Award at 2024 Venture Idol
Vice President of Research, Economic Development and Innovation at Alvernia Rodney S. Ridley Sr., PhD., RTTP receive the Frederick J. Beste III Partnership Award at the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeast Pa (BFTP/NEP) Venture Idol 2024 Innovation Awards. Ridley receives award for his commitment to improving the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through the university’s program O’Pake Institute for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship.
“It is an honor to be recognized by BFTP as one of their long-term partners and to receive the Frederick J. Beste Partnership Award,” said Ridley. “BFTP/NEP is a critical partner and plays a key role in providing inspiration for our operating models. We consider ourselves similar to the BFTP/NEP minor league, drawing inspiration from their experience. It is through our partnership that we believe we will be able to help shape the entrepreneurial ecosystem in greater Berks County, inspired by its internationally award-winning business incubator in Bethlehem.”
According to a release of BFTP/NEP, the Frederick J. Beste Partnership Award is presented annually to an individual or organization whose strong vision, dedication and commitment have helped advance the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, aligning with the mission of Ben Franklin Technology Partners. Recipients can be portfolio companies, incubator network members or other economic development partners. Alvernia’s partnership with BFTP/NEP was announced in 2020. The O’Pake Insitute has collaborated with the organization to support innovative projects developed by local entrepreneurs and industry partners through the SPARK Business Incubator.
“As a recipient of the Frederick J. Beste Partnership Award, Rodney Ridley’s strong vision, dedication and commitment to the Eastern Pennsylvania entrepreneurial ecosystem aligns with the mission of BFTP/NEP,” said Greater Reading/Berks Regional Manager BFTP/NEP, Kimberly Valuntas. “Rodney is a visionary and a leader who brings industry, community and higher education together for the greater good. He continually promotes and supports BFTP/NEP and looks for ways we can collaborate and work together. have together and that the whole is better than the sum of its parts. He drives economic development and entrepreneurship and is respected throughout the Pa. community. Rodney turns ideas into reality, and when Rodney says something will happen, you can. make sure this happens.”
The O’Pake Institute has served more than 300 small and established businesses in and outside Berks County since the inception of SPARK Business Incubator in 2020 and has nearly doubled its goal of engaging 50 students in providing business incubator services. The SPARK Business Incubator also expanded to the Pottsville CollegeTowne campus in October 2023, in partnership with the Pottsville Area Development Corporation (PADCO) and the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce’s IGNITE Schuylkill.
“Alvernia is committed to demonstrating the value of higher education in our ever-evolving economic landscape and does so through transformational experiential learning opportunities for students and intentional community partnerships like BFTP/NEP,” said Alvernia University President , Glynis A. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. “Dr. Ridley’s leadership in curating the unique, student-driven entrepreneurial model has been instrumental to the Reading CollegeTowne initiative and the Alvernia student experience.”
Ridley was also recently taken advantage of by AUTM, an association of more than 3,100 technology transfer professionals, as a speaker on the panel ‘Reimagining TTO: From Technology Transfer to Knowledge Transfer’ at the 2023 AUTM Annual Meeting in Austin, TX. Ridley was also recognized by Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) at the Triple E Awards Ceremony in June 2023 in Barcelona, Spain for the model. He was recognized in the Male Entrepreneur of the Year award category for demonstrating exceptional entrepreneurial acumen, leadership and a profound impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the Americas.
Alvernia’s $1 million purchase and $40 million renovation of a 260,000-square-foot building in downtown Reading, the John R. Post Center in Reading CollegeTowne, which currently houses the O’Pake Institute, has spurred more than 1.5 million square feet of transformation projects along the downtown corridor. It also resulted in Alvernia’s purchase of the former American House facility across from the Post Center, completed in June 2022, as part of the university’s second phase of the Reading CollegeTowne initiative. The building will expand the O’Pake Institute’s incubator space and retail space for local businesses. It is estimated that more than 300 new jobs will be created through the student-supported business incubator.
