Ti Martin, Dana and Stan Day are Entrepreneurs of the Year

Mark Miester mark@tulane.edu
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Ti Martin

Restauranteur Ti Martin, who received an MBA in 1984, will be honored as Tulane Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year on April 11. (Photo from Ti Martin)


The A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University will honor restaurateur Ti Martin, who received an MBA in 1984, as Tulane Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year and philanthropists Dana and Stanley Day as Tulane Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs of the Year at the 2014 Tulane Council of Entrepreneurs Award Gala. Dana Day graduated from Newcomb College in 1980 and from Tulane Law School in 1984. Stanley Day received a bachelor's degree from Tulane in 1980.

The Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship presents the awards each year to highlight outstanding entrepreneurs in the community. The Tulane Distinguished Entrepreneur of Year Award honors individuals who combine entrepreneurial success with philanthropic generosity and service to the community. The Tulane Outstanding Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes individuals dedicated to solving social problems and improving the community through the use of entrepreneurial principles.

Tulane President Scott Cowen and Ira Solomon, dean of the A. B. Freeman School of Business, will present the awards at the ceremony on Friday (April 11) at the Westin New Orleans Canal Place.

Martin is co-proprietor of the Commander's Family of Restaurants, which includes Commander's Palace, Café Adelaide and SoBou in New Orleans and Brennan's of Houston. Martin is also co-founder and board chair of the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute, which is developing a culinary and hospitality school in partnership with Tulane University, Delgado University and the University of New Orleans.

Dana and Stan Day's NewDay Foundation began supporting social entrepreneurship initiatives at Tulane in 2009. Through the foundation, the Days have sponsored programs including the NewDay Social Venture Challenge, the NewDay Social Entrepreneurship Distinguished Speakers Series and the NewDay Professor of Social Entrepreneurship.

“The name Ti Martin is synonymous with the hospitality industry in New Orleans, and Dana and Stan Day are among the very biggest supporters of social entrepreneurship and innovation at Tulane University,” says Solomon.

For more information about the Entrepreneurs of the Year and the Tulane Council of Entrepreneurs Awards Gala, contact Lina Alfieri Stern.

Mark Miester is a senior editor in the A. B. Freeman School of Business.