WORCESTER—Worcester Polytechnic Institute has received a $3 million gift from alumnus Paul Covec ’64 to support innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization efforts led by faculty and students, the university announced.
The gift establishes the Paul A. Covec ’64 Innovation and Commercialization Fund, an endowed resource designed to help promising ideas move from concept to marketplace. The fund supports patent research, prototyping, market analysis, and technology licensing, and is part of WPI’s ongoing “Beyond These Towers” fundraising campaign, the most ambitious in the university’s history.
In recognition of the gift, the amphitheater in WPI’s Innovation Studio has been named the Paul A. Covec ’64 Amphitheatre.
“Paul understands and appreciates the power of a WPI education and the impact of our research and innovation, creating value that truly matters to society,” WPI President Grace Wang said in a statement. “I am grateful for Paul’s generosity to support and accelerate the development of innovative ideas from faculty and students to reach the marketplace and make an impact.”
The new fund builds on recent growth in WPI’s research and commercialization pipeline. According to the university, WPI faculty and students have received more than 70 patents since 2016 and recorded 62 invention disclosures between 2024 and 2025. Over the past decade, university research has led to the launch of 25 startups employing more than 500 people and raising more than $1.7 billion in capital, with work spanning areas such as battery recycling, carbon-negative construction materials, and artificial intelligence in healthcare.
“These companies and the faculty, students, and alumni behind them are addressing significant challenges facing our world,” said Bogdan Vernescu, WPI’s vice president and vice provost for research and innovation, in the release. “By establishing this endowed fund, Paul Covec is providing support that will enable and sustain WPI’s commercialization pipeline long into the future.”
Covec, a Worcester native and longtime Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur, said his own education at WPI shaped his career path and inspired the gift.
“Education has the power to unlock potential and open new paths to opportunity, discovery, and innovation,” Covec said in the announcement. “My WPI education shaped my future, and by establishing this fund, I hope to inspire and support students and faculty as they strive to create a brighter future for our global society.”
Covec founded Cypress Property Management more than four decades ago and previously held senior roles in the semiconductor industry. He also served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy before earning an MBA from Columbia University.
University officials said the gift help ensure that WPI’s research and innovation efforts continue to translate into real-world impact, aligning with the goals of the Beyond These Towers campaign, which focuses on expanding access, advancing research, and strengthening campus facilities and programs.
Have news, tips, or a story worth telling? Reach Editor Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org—because good stories (and great scoops) deserve to be shared.
