Saint Leo University has opened the BB&T Center for Innovation & Technology at the Donald R. Tapia School of Business.
The center was made possible by a donation from BB&T Bank, and encompasses the fourth floor of the business school building. The highlights include a cybersecurity laboratory, which supports the teaching of the university’s new master’s degree in the field, as well as a collaboration zone, where business students work on real-world projects for area companies and nonprofits.
Kenneth Coppedge, West Florida regional president for BB&T, heads a nine-county region stretching from Hernando to Collier counties, and noted in a release that if he “were a young person, this is the area of opportunity that I would want to be a part of.”
The cybersecurity program now offered on the main campus will be offered online in the near future.
Saint Leo is a regionally accredited, liberal arts-based institution located in St. Leo. It was chartered in 1889 by Catholic Benedictine monks, and over the past 125 years, has provided education to people of all faiths.
The school has 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students at both the main campus in Pasco County, as well as 40 teaching locations in seven states.
