Southfield City Centre

The Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technological University has won a $150,000 Stage Two Growth Accelerator Fund grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Investment and Innovation.

Centrepolis was one of only 35 awardees nationwide, two of which were in Michigan.

The SBA’s Growth Accelerator Fund program aims to boost equitable investment in innovative startups and high-growth small businesses. Priorities of the program are National Security and Global Competitiveness; Domestic Manufacturing and Production; Climate and Renewable Energy; and Underserved Communities.

Centrepolis is one of just a handful of hardtech accelerators nationwide focusing on developing physical products, not software and services. Its award came under the domestic manufacturing priority.

The SBA award enables Centrepolis to dedicate grant services to develop physical products for tech companies in the Upper Peninsula in partnership with the UP’s designated SmartZones, MTEC in Houghton, Innovate Marquette, and Sault Ste.Marie, along with UP universities and other economic development partners, including Invest UP and Shophouse Park.

“Since our launch in 2018, the Centrepolis Accelerator has launched over 100 new products made in Michigan, resulting in the creation of hundreds of jobs and over $36 million of contracted business to Michigan’s supply chain,” said Centrepolis Accelerator Executive Director Dan Radomski. “This grant will help us assist even more companies across the state with a focus on developing and manufacturing products in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”

SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the grants “will help ensure high-growth small businesses and innovative startups have access to resources and networks to scale in critical technologies across America.”

In 2023, the SBA introduced a new two-stage format for the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. In May, Stage One winners received $50,000 to build capacity and connections across the U.S. innovation ecosystem, and the SBA encouraged them to apply for Stage Two grants. During Stage Two, the SBA will provide $150,000 to ecosystem partnerships led by Stage One winners to support high-growth STEM and R&D-focused small businesses.

“These new Growth Accelerator partnerships will strengthen collaboration among local and national entrepreneurial organizations committed to enhancing the chance of success for science and technology driven companies to turn their innovations into impact,” said SBA Associate Administrator for Investment and Innovation Bailey DeVries.

A complete list of winners can be found here.

Since its launch in 2014, the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition has awarded 387 prizes totaling more than $19 million to 284 winners across 50 states and U.S. territories. For more information visit https://www.sbir.gov/accelerators

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. Learn more at sba.gov.

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 private, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

Lawrence Technological University has again been listed among the nation’s top colleges by the academic publisher Princeton Review.

LTU is included in “The Best 389 Colleges,” the company’s annual list of top colleges and universities in the nation, now available at bookstores and online.

The Princeton Review chose the colleges based on data it collects annually from surveys of 2,000 college administrators about their institutions’ academic offerings, and from interviews with 165,000 college students about all aspects of campus life. Only about 15% of America’s 2,600 four-year colleges made the list.

“We salute Lawrence Technological University for its outstanding academics, and its many other impressive offerings. We’re delighted to recommend it as an ideal choice for students searching for their ‘best-fit’ college,” said Rob Franek, Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and lead author of “The Best 389 Colleges.”

“This recognition by Princeton Review is a validation of the hard work of our faculty and staff to provide our students with a world-class, technology-based education–an education that results in rewarding and meaningful careers,” said Tarek M. Sobh, LTU president. “Reading the positive comments from students is especially gratifying, and a signal to young people searching for a college, that they’ll find a welcoming, high-achieving atmosphere at LTU.”

The Princeton Review profile praises LTU’s small class sizes, individual attention from faculty, and many opportunities for internships and co-op jobs related to students’ majors, including at LTU’s Centrepolis Accelerator, an on-campus business incubator for high-tech manufacturing firms.

The “Students Say” section of the profile notes that “With having a small campus comes having a close-knit student body,” and there is “a strong sense of community” where “everyone really looks out for each other.” As one student says: “If you ask for help from any of your peers, you’ll receive it, or you’ll solve the problem together.” Despite its small size, this is a “group of diverse students who come from different backgrounds, race, and countries.” Around half of students are athletes and many are also “a part of Greek life or a part-time on-campus job.”

LTU was also featured on Princeton Review’s “Best Midwestern” colleges and “Best Green Colleges” list. Only 150 of the 655 four-year colleges in Michigan and eight other Midwestern states made the Best Midwestern list. Just 455 four-year colleges made the Green Colleges list.

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book from 1 to 389. The company’s  student survey asked students to rate their colleges on dozens of topics and report on their campus experiences.  Information on the survey process and methodology for the ranking lists can be found at https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/ranking-methodology.

For the full list of “The Best 389 Colleges,” visit https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/best-colleges.

The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its tutoring, test-preparation, and admission services, as well as a line of more than 150 books on K-12 and higher education.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is one of only 13 private, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932, and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best in the Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

The Lawrence Technological University hosted the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ National Championship Tournaments for Men’s Bowling and Women’s Lacrosse and each team was victorious. “To win a national championship one time in your school history is huge,” says Scott Trudeau, LTU athletic director. “We just so happened to win two in the same school year.”

The Blue Devils hosted the men’s bowling tournament in March and the women’s lacrosse tournament in May. Each tournament drew teams from around the country and hundreds of student, parent and fan supporters to campus and Southfield City Centre. What makes the wins all the more noteworthy are the technological degrees the students are pursuing. “Our student athletes have a 3.22 overall grade point average,” Trudeau says. “They are here first and foremost for their academics.”

Men’s Bowling

Men’s Bowling has competed in five national championship tournaments – and won for the first time this year. Early in the playoffs, the team was knocked into the “loser’s bracket,” explains Head Coach Jonathon Putti, a 1988 LTU graduate. That meant LTU had to beat enough teams to reestablish itself in the winner’s bracket. Because this was a double elimination tournament, the Blue Devils then had to beat the team that sent them to the loser’s bracket twice in order to clinch the title. “Trying to beat any team twice at that level is not easy,” Putti adds.

Senior Jacob Kujawa led the team as co-captain and was named Most Valuable Player. He graduated in May with a degree in civil engineering. Connor Nowak, a sophomore and molecular and cellular biology major, was named All Tournament Team Member. “When it comes to the kids,” Putti says, “they were a true team.”

Women’s Lacrosse

With 10 seconds to go in overtime play, the Women’s Lacrosse team beat Savannah College of Art and Design 16-15. Last year, the undefeated, number-one-ranked Blue Devils were expected to win the national championship. But a last-minute upset to Benedictine College ended that dream. This year, the team motto was “Unfinished Business” says Mary Ann Meltzer, associate athletic director and women’s lacrosse head coach. Winning the regular season and the conference tournament did not satisfy the players; they were determined to be national champs, she says, and this time they defeated SCAD. “Winning at home against a team we’d never beaten, there really are no words to describe it,’ Meltzer says. “To do it in overtime was that much better.”

Senior Bella Burke, a midfielder, was named Most Valuable Player. She graduated in 2022 with a degree in molecular and cellular biology and is pursuing a graduate degree in biomedical engineering. Alaina Smythe, a sophomore midfielder studying biomedical engineering, scored five goals, including the winning goal.

Meltzer, who transitions to athletic director on July 1, says the tournament wins have increased the national visibility of LTU and Southfield.