Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is hosting a sold-out reception Feb. 1 to celebrate its 20th anniversary as the pioneering university-based accelerator for social enterprises located around the globe.

The event is being held Wednesday evening at Santa Clara’s historic Adobe Lodge. More on the history and milestones of Miller Center can be found at http://bit.ly/Miller20.

Miller Center was founded in 1997 by Santa Clara University’s 27th president, Paul Locatelli, S.J. Under its founding director Professor Jim Koch, the center, then known as the Center for Science, Technology, and Society, emerged from the idea that science and technology could be used to eradicate poverty and care for the planet.

Since then, the center has celebrated numerous milestones. It has:

  • Served more than 600 social entrepreneurs, from 65 countries, whose enterprises have raised over $340 million in investments and positively impacted more than 230 million lives through its Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI®) programs.
  • Enlisted more than 140 Silicon Valley executives as Miller Center mentors.
  • Trained more than 250 impact investors, whose capital is essential for social enterprises to scale.
  • Deployed 75 Global Social Benefit Fellows (GSBF), undergraduate Santa Clara University students who conduct field-based action research that has helped 22 GSBI alumni increase their impact. The GSBF program celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2016.

“We are pleased to mark the 20th anniversary of a Center founded on Fr. Paul Locatelli's vision that technology and innovation can combat urgent social problems,” said Michael E. Engh, S.J., Santa Clara University president. “Miller Center has become an influential force to end poverty by uniting Jesuit universities, mentors, and impact investors with social entrepreneurs.”

More information on Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is available at http://www.scu-social-entrepreneurship.org/.