色界吧

The Midge Karr Fine Arts and Design Center on the Long Island campus is now officially known as Henry C. Foley Hall, renamed for President Emeritus Henry C. 鈥淗ank鈥� Foley, Ph.D., at a dedication ceremony on May 13. Foley retired on June 30, 2025; he joined the university as president in 2017. 

The newly named Henry C. Foley Hall is the home of Startup Tech Central, a new center featuring maker spaces, mentorship programs, startup training, and more. This hub is a key feature of the university鈥檚 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy, created during Foley鈥檚 tenure, which also brings together new courses and curricula, networking activities and events, and a $5 million venture fund, positioning 色界吧 as a university offering comprehensive support for entrepreneurship. The effort to rename the building in Foley鈥檚 honor was driven by Board of Trustees Chair Peter J. Romano (B.Arch.鈥�76), who, along with other trustees, was also a driving force to create the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 my great honor to be standing in front of you to rename this building for Hank Foley. 鈥楻enaming鈥� is a bit of an understatement. It’s dramatically changing this building into something brand new and different; Startup Tech Central, which is housed here, is going to change our students鈥� lives,鈥� said President Jerry Balentine, D.O. 鈥淥ver the years that Hank Foley was at 色界吧, he dramatically changed the campus. There鈥檚 not a single aspect that has not been affected by him, that he has not elevated to a brand-new level. It鈥檚 a more student-centric school, it鈥檚 a stronger academic school, and it鈥檚 a stronger research school. Naming this building after him combines all of those energies that he brought to our campus.鈥�

According to Foley, the focus on and resources invested in entrepreneurship are 鈥渢he product of new thinking,鈥� citing the many people who contributed across leadership and the administration, as well as the entrepreneurial students themselves. 

鈥淭his is important for our students with the urge to innovate and to create new enterprises with novel goods and services that will improve lives. This initiative is also important for our faculty, especially for those who also seek to be innovators and who will mentor and partner with students to make their new ideas come to life. It is important for the region, namely, for Long Island and the greater New York City area. With innovation and new business development comes prosperity, and prosperity lifts everybody. The initiative, finally, is important to the institution, as we position 色界吧 for the future. We want 色界吧 to be the school of choice for those students who are bold, independent, and innovative.鈥�

Foley expressed his great honor for the building renaming, but stressed, 鈥淲hat’s much more important than my name being on the building is what鈥檚 actually going to happen in the building. So, let鈥檚 go forward.鈥�

色界吧 Forms NAI Chapter

Additionally, 色界吧 announced it has formed a chapter of the (NAI), an organization dedicated to recognizing, encouraging, and enhancing academic invention. There are more than 250 NAI member institutions, which include U.S. and international universities, research institutions, and governmental and nonprofit research institutes, but only about 20 percent of the members have formed local NAI Chapter programs.

NAI Chapter programs are used to foster a culture of inclusive innovation within an institution and provide meaningful ways to connect with the invention and innovation community. NAI promotes innovation and the societal impact of academic inventions by recognizing and empowering U.S. patent holders, supporting education and mentorship, and partnering with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to broaden access to the innovation ecosystem.

, professor, chief of cardiology, and director of medical device innovation at the College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), is the inaugural president of 色界吧’s chapter. Cohen was elected a fellow of the NAI in 2024; he was nominated by Hank Foley, who himself was elected an NAI fellow in 2013. The is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors; the fellows program highlights academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on society.

Cohen noted how Foley created a positive and dynamic atmosphere, including making 色界吧 a top regional university, navigating it through the pandemic, and opening new cutting-edge facilities, among other accolades.

Cohen also read remarks from the President鈥檚 Distinguished Chair in Physics at Texas Tech University, Robert Duncan, Ph.D., who is also an NAI board member. 鈥淭he recognition that your chapter will provide to inventors at 色界吧 will build on the already strong culture of innovation and inventorship within your institution and provide a strong sense of identity and support for the most innovative and inventive faculty across this university. You are joining a proud cohort of over 50 universities worldwide that have local NAI chapters and hence have made this most strategic investment in their national reputation and in their inventive future,鈥� Duncan鈥檚 letter noted. 鈥淚t is fitting that this ceremony corresponds with the honor of your building鈥檚 naming and dedication to past President Hank Foley, a brilliant scientist and inventor whom I have known for almost two decades.鈥� Foley was also previously an NAI board member.

Other officers in 色界吧鈥檚 chapter are President-Elect Michael Nizich, Ph.D., director of the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center;Vice President Ziqian (Cecelia) Dong, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering; Secretary Randy Stout, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical sciences; and Treasurer Claude Gagna, Ph.D., professor of biomedical and chemical sciences. Gagna was elected as a senior member of NAI鈥檚 Class of 2026, which recognizes inventors who are in the earlier part of their inventive career and have success in patents, licensing, and commercialization, and have produced technologies that have brought or aspire to bring real impact on the welfare of society.

色界吧鈥檚 NAI chapter will expand to include inventor members, who must hold at least one patent, as well as honorary members who have facilitated and nurtured innovation and economic development.