A HOME FOR BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS: At a recent ribbon-cutting, Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert, left, and Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber, right, officially opened the University’s Entrepreneurial Hub. Flanking them on the portico were Provost David Lee, left, and Mung Chiang, right, who directs the University’s Keller Center and chairs its Princeton Entrepreneurial Center. (Photo by Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications)

Like most contemporary educational institutions, Princeton University considers entrepreneurship a priority — so much so that it has dedicated a 10,000-square-foot building in downtown Princeton for just that purpose. The Entrepreneurial Hub officially opened with a ribbon-cutting on November 11, confirming the school’s commitment to innovation among its students and partnerships with the local community.

The red brick building at 34 Chambers Street has served throughout its history as offices for the telephone company, the Gallup company, William Sword & Company, and Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty. The University is renting it from owner Kinsale Properties, of which Jud and Matt Henderson are principal partners.

The new Entrepreneurial Hub houses offices, meeting rooms, classrooms, and information technology support. “We made sure it has the typical layout and feel that you would get in a New York City incubator,” said Mung Chiang, who directs the University’s Keller Center and Princeton Entrepreneurial Council and is also the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering. “We did a lot to make sure the environment would serve the purpose of entrepreneurs meeting together.”

Standing on the steps outside the building at the ribbon cutting last week, University President Christopher L. Eisgruber said the site has become a “nexus of entrepreneurial activity” in the few months since students began using its facilities. It is “a place where creative and talented entrepreneurs from the University and the community are coming together to learn from one another, establish connections, and make contributions to the local and regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, and ultimately the world,” he continued.

Mr. Eisgruber was joined by Mr. Chiang, University Provost David Lee, and Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert at the opening ceremony. While specifically geared to the University, the Hub is also intended to be inclusive of the local community. “It’s a great example of town/gown collaboration,” Mr. Chiang said. “It takes a village to support this. The Hub serves as a place where entrepreneurial ecosystems can act as mentors and advisors to startups. And given the downtown location, they can have their own meetings and events. We love and welcome these types of collaborations to move entrepreneurship forward together.”

The Hub is made up of two different organizations: the Princeton Entrepreneurial Council, which oversees the coordination of everything related to entrepreneurship on the University campus; and the Keller Center’s eLab Accelerator, which supports selected student teams seeking to start new ventures. The Keller Center is operating the Hub. “The eLab encourages students to have their own innovative ideas, and now they have a very festive physical space where they can work,” Mr. Chiang said.

The idea of the center is to serve two purposes. One is education and outreach, and the other is a co-working space for startups geared to students, faculty, and alumni. “We support any types of startup endeavors including non-profit and social entrepreneurs,” Mr. Chiang commented.

“University entrepreneurship cannot exist in a vacuum,” Mr. Eisgruber said at the opening. “Partnerships to facilitate entrepreneurship are increasingly important, and we look forward to ongoing collaborations with municipal leaders and area business partners to cultivate and nurture the entrepreneurial ecosystem in central New Jersey.”

Mr. Chiang stressed the open-door policy in his own comments at the ribbon cutting. “As we open the Hub, these doors will remain open,” he said.” We will continue to welcome partners from Princeton, from Mercer County, and from New Jersey on a rising tide that lifts all boats. We welcome you to participate in our events and programs. We welcome you to become mentors and collaborators to the teams of innovators who are pushing, pivoting, and persisting each day in the corridors behind me.”