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Entrepreneur donates $3M

to RIT's Saunders College

Rochester Institute of Technology alum Joseph Lobozzo has given $3 million to the Saunders College of Business.

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The gift concludes the business school’s $20 million Saunders Challenge which was started by namesake Philip Saunders with a challenge gift of $5 million. Saunders College of Business subsequently issued a call to action—inviting alumni and friends to raise support for the college’s plans to create a new environment for business education at RIT.

Lobozzo, founder and former president and CEO of JML Optical Industries Inc., was in the first executive MBA class at Saunders College. He has served on the RIT Board of Trustees; advisory boards for the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, Venture Creations and Saunders College Executive MBA program; and several terms on the Dean’s Council for Saunders College.

He also served as vice chair of RIT’s Powered by the Future capital campaign, and established the Lobozzo Executive MBA Challenge Scholarship.

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“As an alumnus, Joe has been one of our greatest supporters, and this remarkable gift—which completes the Saunders Challenge—is one we are extremely grateful for. Joe and his family’s generosity will help support an exciting new environment for business education along with life-changing opportunities for our students,” said Jacqueline Mozrall, dean of the Saunders College.

Rochester ranks among hottest hipster markets

Rochester ranks among the hottest hipster markets in America, in a recent listing by realtor.com and Yelp. The city ranked fifth, while Columbus, Ohio took first place.

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From a housing perspective, all the markets on the realtor.com Yelp Hottest Hipster Markets in America list have strong market dynamics, showing healthy buyer demand with homes selling in an average of 30 days. Each market also has low or average unemployment rates ranging from 2.7 percent to 4.6 percent, compared with 4.4 nationally.

Overall, millennials — ages 25 to 34 — in the top ten markets make up an average of 22 percent of the population, higher than the national population share of millennials of 13 percent.

The listing identified Rochester’s Highland Park neighborhood. The hipster hotspot was The Playhouse Swillburger, while the park was commended for the Lilac Festival.

The median listing price for homes is $154,925, making it an affordable place for a younger population. Millennials make up 23.1 percent of the population.

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In rank order, the top 10 Hottest Hipster Markets in America by ZIP code include:

  • Columbus(43202) —Clintonville, Ohion

  • Seattle (98122) — Capitol Hill

  • San Diego (92104)— North Park

  • Fort Wayne, Ind. (46802)

  • Rochester, N.Y.(14620)— Highland Park

  • San Francisco (94117)— The Haight

  • Long Beach, Calif. (90814)

  • Louisville, Ky. (40217)

  • Grand Rapids, Mich. (49506)

  • Colorado Springs, Colo. (17820)

Rochester, Buffalo to make bid for Amazon's second HQ

Greater Rochester Enterprise and Invest Buffalo Niagara announced a collaboration between the Buffalo and Rochester metro regions in pursuit of online retailer Amazon’s proposed second North American headquarters.

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In early September, Amazon issued a request for proposals for a project related to potential site locations for the company’s second corporate headquarters, at which Amazon will hire as many as 50,000 new full-time employees with an average annual total compensation exceeding $100,000 over the next decade. The project is expected to require more than $5 billion in capital expenditures.

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By linking efforts, the combined Buffalo Rochester Metro Corridor can offer a compelling and competitive proposal, said InBN President and CEO Tom Kucharski and GRE Interim President and CEO Matt Hurlbutt.

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The combined Buffalo Rochester Metro Corridor submission will provide detailed responses to the various components of the Amazon RFP, while expounding upon several potential proposal differentiators, including the well-documented affordability of the region, low operating costs for business located there, ease of travel—via bicycle, public transit, or automobile, and extensive access to leisure/lifestyle activities considered attractive to the prototypical Amazon worker.

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“While there is little doubt that we will be up against some stiff competition, our team is committed to submitting a sophisticated, robust proposal that shines a positive light on the Greater Buffalo Rochester Metro Corridor, no matter the outcome,” Kucharski and Hurlbutt concluded.

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rocgrowth newsfeed

 

Luminate aims to advance emerging industry, cement Rochester as photonics hub (Democrat and Chronicle)

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Rochester named among top Amazon candidates by Moody’s (WHEC)

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Emerging female leaders to be honored at summit (RBJ)

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Kodak alum wins entrepreneur award (RBJ)

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Clark Patterson Lee acquires Greensboro, N.C., firm (RBJ)

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Two out-of-state articles praise Finger Lakes region (RBJ)​

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Nu-Look Collision continues its acquisition strategy (RBJ)​

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Cobblestone manages $1.7B in assets, increasingly from local entrepreneurs (Democrat and Chronicle)

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Confidence dips among upstate consumers(RBJ)

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ESL named No.1 small-business lender (RBJ)

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4 companies honored with Ethie Awards (RBJ)

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Rochester-based firm gets extension on $765M Navy contract (13 WHAM)

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Two transmission shops meshing into one (RBJ)

 

New tech merges iPhones and health care (RBJ)

 

Finger Lakes wine wins gold medal in California competition (RBJ)

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RIT's new president calls for the university to 'double down’ on creativity and innovation (WXXI)

 

Federal Reserve Bank president sees hopeful future upstate (RBJ)

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Monroe County ranks first in NY for fiscal stress, report says (Democrat and Chronicle)

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Rochester District Heating Cooperative finishes infrastructure updates (RBJ)

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Economists: Job growth steady but not stellar (RBJ)

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IV4, Pervasive Solutions to merge (RBJ)

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Eugenio Marlin to receive Hispanic Business Person of the Year award (RBJ)

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RTS to study redesign of public transit system (RBJ)

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Four honored with photonics awards (RBJ)

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It's a banner year for apples, say local growers (WXXI)

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Reshaping Rochester finalists announced (RBJ)

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Wegmans growing an army of organic farmers (Democrat and Chronicle)

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Officials celebrate downtown MCC campus (RBJ)

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RMSC awarded $1 million in federal funding (13WHAM)

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Photonics leaders, DOD meet to discuss future (RBJ)

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Finalists set for Technology and Manufacturing Awards (RBJ)

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10-day Fringe Festival returns to Rochester (Spectrum News)

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Eastman's Jeff Beal wins another Emmy (WXXI)

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US Chamber VP urges Rochester leaders to work toward change (RBJ)

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Finger Lakes tourism climbs by 2.1% (RBJ)

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National Toy Hall of Fame reveals finalists (RochesterFirst)

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Kodak to sell instant-print cameras (RBJ)

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