Bill Generett, who announced he would be stepping down as President of Urban Innovation21 in April, has been named Duquesne University’s new vice president for Community Engagement.
While he said he is honored and excited about the opportunity to bolster the university’s ongoing community involvement efforts, perhaps the best part of the job is, he doesn’t have to leave town.
“I was this close to going to Erie, and while that would have been a great opportunity, I get to stay here, and take this position. I feel very blessed,” he told the New Pittsburgh Courier.
“Duquesne is a Spiritan institution and has the moral underpinning for true community engagement. That’s important because this work is here to stay, and really, Duquesne’s been doing this since its founding—committing itself to positively impacting the community and the region.”
Duquesne University President Ken Gormley said he wants to do even more—and Generett is just the man to help do it. “An essential part of the University’s new strategic plan, that will be finalized soon, is a vision for expanding and enhancing the University’s community engagement efforts,” Gormley said in a July 31 press announcement.
“Bill Generett is a highly-recognized civic leader with a distinguished career in community and economic development. His expertise, community connections and passion for improving our region will help to make this vision a reality.”
For Generett, who has been Urban Innovation21’s president and CEO since it was founded as the state’s first Keystone Opportunity Zone for economic development in 2007, the move kind of brings him full circle, because, along with the Hill House Economic Development Association and UPMC, Duquesne University was one of the KOZ’s founders.
In his new capacity, the university said, Generett will facilitate and develop relationships with community organizations, local governments, and civic organizations, strengthening the University’s partnerships with its neighbors.
He will also work to advance community-engaged research, teaching, and scholarship, in conjunction with the Center for Community-Engaged Teaching and Research, and coordinate and support co-curricular engagement.
During Generett’s tenure at Urban Innovation21, he helped fund, foster and support multiple entrepreneurial startups by economically-disadvantaged residents, primarily in the Hill District and Uptown, and launched new entities to spur interest in economic development, such as the Citizen Science Lab, Pittsburgh’s first and only life sciences community laboratory. He also developed a partnership with Reed Smith LLP that has provided $1 million in pro bono legal services to Urban Innovation21’s entrepreneurs.
Generett will stay on at Urban Innovation21 through August. His first day at Duquesne will be Sept. 1.
“My decision to leave there was tough, but after nine years, it was time,” he said. “I was sad because I thought I’d have to leave, but now I get to stay here and do some of the same work, and more, throughout the region.”
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