One of our most unique Founded Communities is on NC State’s Centennial Campus. “Geographically, Raleigh Founded is literally right in between where research and education, and private industry, happen,” says Jude DesNoyer, activation and outreach manager for the NC State Real Estate and Development Office. “It is the middle of where those two different demographics come together.”

Now in his sixth year at State, DesNoyer worked with Raleigh Founded and the NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department to transform the warehouse-like space into Raleigh Founded-Centennial. Members who cowork in other Founded Communities locations will immediately feel at home, but also gain access to an environment where academic research and entrepreneurial innovation feed off each other.

“Traditionally, those demographics have been pretty separated,” says DesNoyer. “Raleigh Founded is right here where everything ‘over there’ is research and education, everything ‘over here’ is private industry and business, and so Raleigh Founded serves as almost like the middle ground.”

Centennial Campus was established almost 40 years ago, but it is now coming into its own. There has been a movement around the world for creating research campuses and innovation districts, “but nobody really knows how to do it well yet, so everybody’s taking their own stab at how to make it happen,” says DesNoyer. “Those that have adjacencies to private industry, entrepreneurship, and research and education are doing it better than most.

“Centennial Campus is open to everybody. It’s not just for NC State faculty, staff, and students, and we are always looking for people who are interested in collaborating or partnering on ideas, big ideas, small ideas. We’re open for business.”

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Want to learn more about Raleigh Founded's Centennial location? Check out this spotlight on Raleigh Founded member Chip Kennedy and schedule a tour with us!