Scarpa Center Celebrates 10 Years of Fostering Innovative Law Practice & Business Strategy
September 4, 2025—This year, the John F. Scarpa Center for Entrepreneurship and Law at TV Charles Widger School of Law celebrates its 10th anniversary. Serving as a hub for innovative law and business strategy, the Center engages students in the practical application of their law studies and better prepares them for today’s business-centric legal practice.
“This groundbreaking initiative has helped to prepare students of today to take on the challenges of tomorrow’s world,” says John Scarpa, a cellular communications entrepreneur and business leader whose generosity helped establish the Center and other initiatives at Villanova. “Its entrepreneurial culture empowers the next generation of leaders with the skills and confidence to embrace innovation, take risks and create the solutions needed for our future.”
Under the current directorship of MarySheila McDonald, John F. Scarpa Professor of Entrepreneurship, the Center has experienced growth in the number of student Scarpa Fellows, academic courses, interactive programming and guest lecturers. Students have a number of opportunities to complement their classwork with experiential learning, such as the student-managed and edited Forum on Entrepreneurship & Law Blog, which explores substantive legal and business issues affecting entrepreneurs and startups.
The Center has also expanded its legal externship opportunities to include placements with attorneys representing local entrepreneurs and established the Entrepreneurship Law Society. Other programs include the Scarpa Corporate Negotiation Team, in which students compete against law students from across the nation to hone critical negotiation skills and Pitch Day, the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s annual business and product pitching competition. The Center also frequently collaborates with the Clinic for Law and Entrepreneurship, where students work with real entrepreneurial clients in need of legal assistance, and the Intellectual Property Law Clinic, where students provide resources and legal support to the inventors and entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurship requires an interdisciplinary focus as the innovative ventures that provide the best solutions to complex problems often result from the collaboration of professionals from various disciplines,” McDonald says. “This is why the Center continues to find ways for law students to work with Villanovans across campus, such as the business and engineering schools.”
The Center also houses the Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) program, which invites business leaders to lecture and advise students each semester. Aligned with the Law School’s “where law meets business” philosophy, EIRs share their real-world experience with students, adding a deeper layer of relevancy to their studies. McDonald slates the EIR program’s mission as “next-level engagement, enlightenment and education.” As the Center continues to further its experiential learning offerings, McDonald hopes to collaborate with other Villanova Law centers and student groups to continue this trajectory of hands-on, synergistic initiatives.
In addition, John Scarpa and the Center’s advisory board provide valuable mentorship and guidance to law students who seek to integrate the entrepreneurial mindset with their legal studies.
Students who have worked with the Center have gone on to land varied career opportunities, develop complex products for clients or launch their own businesses. While not all law students pursue entrepreneurship, McDonald hopes the Center’s work broadens their mindset about what it means to be an attorney and inspires graduates to embrace the opportunities that await them. “It is a privilege to witness how the Center’s initiatives have challenged our law students to broaden the lens through which they analyze and solve issues by embracing an entrepreneurial perspective.”