Brandeis’ International Business School received a $2.5 million donation from the Hassenfeld family to establish an innovation center, according to a Nov. 7 IBS press release. The center will allow for an increase in corporate outreach, expand IBS’ influence outside of the University and provide new educational opportunities for Brandeis students.

IBS Dean Bruce Magid announced the gift on Friday morning during the Massachusetts Trade and Investment Forum. The announcement comes one month after the Princeton Review named IBS one of the top business schools in the country for the seventh consecutive year.

Provost Lisa Lynch will oversee the center and facilitate collaboration between the Office of Technology Licensing at Brandeis and IBS. Rebecca Menapace, the associate provost for innovation and executive director of the OTL, will “focus the center on scaling the infrastructure needed to facilitate technology development and commercialization across university departments,” the statement reads.

“This gift enables us to build the critical bridge between academic and industry research,” Menapace was quoted as saying in the Nov. 7 IBS release. “It will foster intellectual collaborations, create new robust partnerships externally and attract more sponsored research opportunities across our campus.”

The center will be launched in existing offices, as opposed to constructing a new building, Menapace wrote in a statement, which was provided to the Justice by Digital Communications Specialist Samantha Rose Lawsky. The center will “support faculty research, catalyze innovation on campus, and change the world through the groundbreaking work happening every day at Brandeis,” wrote Menapace.

More specifically, Menapace wrote that the center will allow the IBS community to forge relationships with local biotechnicians, pharmaceutical companies, information technology companies and venture capital firms. The gift will also support research on campus and provide “necessary support to bring (said) research to corporate, non-profit, and even government partners,” wrote Menapace.

Menapace also noted that the students will be “active participants in and beneficiaries of the center … They will be provided with practical experiences and unique learning opportunities such as creating business and marketing plans for new commercial applications of research,” she wrote.

Lawsky was unable to respond with information on when the Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center will be complete and ready to function by press time.

The founding donor, Alan Hassenfeld, is the retired CEO of Hasbro Inc. and current co-chair of the Board of Overseers of IBS. Hassenfeld also established the Hassenfeld Emerging Markets Business Immersion Program at IBS.