SYRACUSE — Le Moyne College says Tim and Kathleen Keenan have donated an additional $1.25 million that will help pay for the ongoing initiatives of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity for the next five years. “This commitment will ensure that the important work being accomplished through the center will not only continue […]
SYRACUSE — Le Moyne College says Tim and Kathleen Keenan have donated an additional $1.25 million that will help pay for the ongoing initiatives of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity for the next five years.
“This commitment will ensure that the important work being accomplished through the center will not only continue but will expand over the next few years,” the Keenans said in the Le Moyne announcement. “The center’s breadth of activities and overall impact on students, businesses, community organizations and other entities throughout the region has been truly remarkable to witness.”
Since its founding in 2013, the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity has “become engrained in the entrepreneurial landscape of the region,” offering curriculum, programming and educational opportunities for “individuals of all ages,” Le Moyne College said.
In October 2022, the Keenan Center’s mission and goals were enhanced with the opening of a 2,700-square-foot facility on Le Moyne’s campus. The center was built to standards established by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is “one of the most unique facilities of its kind found on a college campus in the country,” per the announcement on the Le Moyne website.
About the Keenan Center
The Keenan Center’s activities have included helping hundreds of entrepreneurs — from the campus to across the community — develop business models, network, and grow their businesses.
The center also has a program called Keenan Innovators, which is led by expert STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) coaches that introduces cohorts of middle schoolers to the power of inquiry, technology and problem solving.
Its activities also include Dolphin Tank, which is an annual event showcasing Le Moyne students who have started innovative and growing ventures, in competition for $50,000 in funding.
The Keenan Center also has initiatives involving drones with partnerships, education, and other activities that have established the center as a “vital cog in the region’s position as a national leader” in the drone industry. In 2024 the center announced a partnership with NUAIR. The nonprofit NUAIR is short for the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance.
The Keenan Center’s activities additionally include Maker Faire Syracuse where engineers, artists, scientists, and crafters become “makers” who build and show hobbies, experiments, artwork and more.
“The Keenans were one of the first donors to respond to Mike Madden’s
$7.5 million gift that established the Madden College of Business and Economics,” Jim Joseph, dean of Le Moyne’s Madden College and VP for advancement and innovation. “Their long-standing commitment and support have helped elevate the reputation and offerings of the Madden College on the regional and national stage.”
