Miles College Launches Innovation Center

A newly launched innovation center is expected to open the door to those opportunities for students at historically Black colleges and universities.

Miles College has created “The 2150 Center for Innovation, Commercialization & Growth” as an incubator to increase innovation opportunities for the college and its students.

Erskine Faush“The idea was born out of a problem,” said Erskine Faush, founder of the center and the Miles Chief Innovation and Growth Officer. “When it comes to research and patents, the top two PWIs (Predominately White Institutions) outpace all HBCU combined.”

Faush says HBCU students are typically underserved regarding research and innovation. The center helps to ensure opportunities like state research projects, patents, and venture investments will be made available to students.

The college in Fairfield, Alabama, will welcome its first cohort of students at the center this fall with another to launch in the spring.

Students within the program will have access to big business owners and researchers from across the country, said Faush, adding that the center’s long-term goal is to extend to HBCUs across the state.

“When we can put students, founders, innovators, games changers, disrupters, and those folks who have a mindset to really problem solve and they’re in the room with other people who’ve already been there, that’s a powerful combination,” said Faush.