The Hub plans for full operations this fall

Classes from across academic disciplines will be hosted at the Hub this fall. Photo of the Hub’s grand opening courtesy of Flyer News.

Olivia Vallone | Contributing Writer

The Hub in the new Dayton Arcade is expected to be fully operational by the fall semester of 2021.

According to Vincent Lewis, director of the L. William Crotty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and president of The Hub, depending on where the world is with COVID-19 and if the Path Forward team allows for it, classes will start to be offered at the Hub. Around 65 member companies are already using the space, from open co-working spaces to private offices.

“Originally, we had hoped to have the hub completed for the fall semester [2020],” Lewis said. “Ironically our problem was not COVID-19 pushing it back. Our problem was just the delays that come with such a large construction project. And, you know, you’re dealing with buildings that have construction dates that run from the 1880s until the 1920s, and because of that, early on, they ran into challenges trying to understand what they were doing so that really delayed things more than anything.”

Though the project and using the space for this school year had to be delayed, there was a ‘soft-opening’ of sorts. The Flyer Pitch competition was held in-person at The Hub as well as a few final presentations for students in their entrepreneurship capstone.

Next year, classes from multiple areas of study will be held in the newly-renovated space.

“All of the core classes in our entrepreneurship program will be offered down here in the fall as well as some other business classes,” Lewis said.

The Institute of Applied Creativity will also have some coursework going on at The Hub along with a few art and design courses. All UD students are welcome to check out The Hub and what it has to offer.

“One of the big concepts is to create this transdisciplinary learning space where you have students from multiple academic disciplines engaging and working in the space with local entrepreneurs and making those connections,” Lewis said.

People working at The Hub have already expressed an interest in offering internship positions that will be available for UD students. These connections will further intertwine the students and staff at UD with the actual city of Dayton, bettering the relationship between the school and the city.

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