Sweet Briar launches center for business, entrepreneurship and innovation

Sweet Briar College is creating a new Center for Business, Entrepreneurship and Innovation and naming Laura Townsend to lead it, with a launch aimed at expanding internships, industry partnerships and career pathways for students. The center is designed to strengthen business education across majors and deepen connections with alumnae, employers and regional leaders.

Why it matters: - The new center is designed to give Sweet Briar students more direct access to internships, apprenticeships, guest speakers and industry partnerships. - The effort is meant to connect classroom learning with career preparation across business, engineering, the arts and other disciplines. - Sweet Briar says the center will strengthen opportunities for women’s leadership and entrepreneurship while building regional ties.

What happened: - Sweet Briar College announced a new Center for Business, Entrepreneurship and Innovation on September 26, 2026. - Laura Townsend will join the college at the end of the month to lead the center and establish a Business Council. - The center will sit within Academic Affairs.

The details: - The center will build on Sweet Briar’s existing business major and other academic programs. - Planned programming includes internships, apprenticeships, guest speakers and additional experiential opportunities. - The Business Council will act as an advisory board of ambassadors and advocates for Sweet Briar and its students. - Townsend brings experience in teaching, entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership and strategic planning. - Townsend holds a master’s degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Oral Roberts University. - Townsend most recently served as director of engagement at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. - In that role, Townsend led strategic initiatives across scholarship, government and industry and built relationships with regional industry and institutional leaders. - Townsend also directed the Innovate Living-Learning Community at Virginia Tech. - That program was ranked the top entrepreneurship LLC and received a Model Entrepreneurship Education Program award from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. - President Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83 said Sweet Briar is seeking to grow academic programs and community partnerships to invest in the campus, Amherst County and the Commonwealth of Virginia. - Dr. Lisa Powell said business is consistently among Sweet Briar’s largest majors and that students in other programs also want more entrepreneurship and innovation opportunities. - Sweet Briar’s existing support network for the center includes Career Services, Alumnae Relations & Development, the Margaret Jones Wyllie ’45 Engineering Program and current faculty in business and other areas. - The college says students will be able to connect with alumnae entrepreneurs and business leaders through the new center. - For prospective students, the center adds another layer to Sweet Briar’s hands-on learning model. - The college directs prospective students to learn more at sbc.edu/admissions.

Between the lines: - Sweet Briar is using the new center to formalize a broader career and industry pipeline around a liberal arts education. - The Business Council suggests the college wants outside guidance from alumni, employers and regional partners as it builds the program. - The emphasis on women’s entrepreneurship fits the college’s mission and gives the initiative a clear identity beyond a standard business center.

What's next: - Townsend will begin her role at the end of the month. - Sweet Briar will develop the center’s programming, expand partnerships and assemble the Business Council. - Students should see more internship, apprenticeship and speaker opportunities as the center takes shape.

The bottom line: - Sweet Briar is betting that a new business and entrepreneurship hub will make its students more career-ready and more connected to employers, alumnae and regional industry.