What was previously known as The Ideation Lab in Loyola’s College of Business has been renamed in dedication of Robert “Bobby” Savoie and his wife, Lori Kent Savoie.
The newly named Dr. Bobby and Lori Kent Savoie Ideation Lab is a hub for student entrepreneurs to work out ideas, collaborate, and make said ideas into a reality.
Sam McCabe, director for the Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development, said Savoie is a “heavily involved entrepreneur throughout New Orleans.”
Savoie graduated from Loyola with his masters degree in 1981 and has gone on to work with NASA in engineering, and nuclear power.
According to McCabe, Savoie and his wife are “great supporters of the university.”
Barbra Watts, executive director of entrepreneurship for the Center of Entrepreneurship and Community Development, said the married couple are dedicated to keeping both the Ideation Lab and all of its programs alive and funded, as they believe that it is an asset to students across campus.
McCabe said the Savoie are donors to programs in the business department including Wolfpack LaunchU, even reaching out to find how to best support entrepreneurial spirit on campus.
Wolfpack LaunchU in particular has seen success since its start two years ago and has provided over sixty-thousand dollars in support for student, parent, faculty, and alumni businesses. The first cohort of the program, according to McCabe, collectively raised a total of one million dollars, and hired sixteen employees.
In addition, last month the Center of Entrepreneurship and Community Development received an award for Outstanding Student Engagement and Leadership by the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers.
McCabe said all of this was made possible by the people who use the Dr. Bobby and Lori Kent Savoie Ideation Lab, and through campus programming such as the Side Hustle Expo.
McCabe said he wants students to know that the Dr. Bobby and Lori Kent Savoie Ideation Lab is open to all students, and not just those in the business college.
He said the lab, “can be used as meeting and office space, [and is] designed to be an open space where everything can move and a place to work through ideas and push them to turn into a business.”
Although McCabe couldn’t share any future endeavors regarding the business college and its programs, he did tease something could be coming.
“We always have something up our sleeves,” he said.
This year, the entrepreneurship club was formed, in which speakers are invited to talk to members about the specifics of starting a business, and how to move from a side-hustle to a revenue-generating business.
Watts said New Orleans is a growing entrepreneurial network, and in the future, there will be more robust opportunities to connect Loyola with the greater New Orleans area.
