Entrepreneurship is part of the family legacy that Tim Habbershon ’81 is building. It’s a legacy that is tied up with Grove City College, where he, his sister and his four children all earned degrees.
The College provided Habbershon a foundation upon which he built a successful career and fostered an entrepreneurial spirit that suffuses his work and his family’s. Currently a managing director of Fidelity Investments, one of the largest private family companies in the U.S., Habbershon has been an advisor, consultant and coach to ownership and management teams of large family-controlled firms and family offices worldwide and built three university institutes in family enterprising.
Recognizing the College’s influence and desiring to give something back to their alma mater, the Habbershon family generously invested in The Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I) at Grove City College.
In May, E+I honored that support by naming its space in the Hall of Arts and Letters on campus the Habbershon Family Innovation Zone. The distinction recognizes Tim Habbershon and his children: Grant ’06 and Amanda Habbershon; Jonathan ’09 and Melissa Habbershon; Meredith (Habbershon ’07) and David Nastasi; and Natalie (Habbershon ’11) and Joshua Holmes.
Opened in fall 2018, E+I’s center is designed to be a highly collaborative space for students of all majors to utilize for a variety of purposes. The former classroom is like a blank slate. Within its white walls, tables and chairs can be arranged in any formation to meet a variety of needs, double-sided, mobile whiteboards wait for the next big idea and staff is on hand to assist, advise and encourage budding entrepreneurs.
“Space is an important indicator of one's learning philosophy," Tim Habbershon said. The space E+I calls home is meant to encourage collaboration, integrate different disciplines and inform “how we want to be thinkers,” he said.
“It felt easy to be part of a new kind of space at Grove City College. Putting the family name on it is a legacy statement,” he said. “Part of my vision is that we encourage other families to make their family legacy part of Grove City’s legacy and inspire them to do that … The innovation space brings a different learning environment. I think it’s exciting.”
“The generosity of the Habbershon family will fuel the growth of our program so that we may truly empower and equip students of all majors to create a better world. We are so incredibly blessed to have the entire Habbershon family as part of the Grove City College family,” Yvonne English, executive director of E+I and professor of Entrepreneurship said.
For more about The Center for Entrepreneurship+Innovation, visit www.gccentrepreneurship.com.