UC faculty member named Stanford Faculty Innovation Fellow
Seeks to increase campus engagement using innovation, entrepreneurship
Aaron Bradley, an associate professor of creative, culture and social impact initiatives at the University of Cincinnati, has been named a Stanford University Faculty Innovation Fellow.
He is one of 22 educators from 15 higher education institutions across the globe who will participate in the Faculty Innovation Fellows program, a two-year program run by Stanford University's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school), which tasks participants with increasing campus engagement through innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and design thinking.
“We designed this program to address needs expressed by the faculty and staff in our community,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program at Stanford University. “These campus leaders wanted similar resources and a community of practice just like their student fellows have. Last year was our first prototype and we saw great results. Educators were very engaged, and they made impressive progress on their projects with mentorship and a supportive community. As a result, we’re thrilled to continue offering this program.”
Aaron Bradley/photo by Andrew Higley of UC Creative + Brand.
Bradley says he first got connected with Stanford University's design institute (d.school) in 2019 through an intensive summer program.
“That program focused on leveraging innovation and human-centered design as teaching tools, and we spent time prototyping pilot projects and new initiatives to catalyze innovation at our institutions,” says Bradley. “It really built my creative confidence and shaped my vision for teaching innovation here at UC. I’m incredibly excited and thankful for the chance to immerse myself in the innovation fellows community over the next two years and dig in on a bigger project.”
Candidates in the program collaborate with one another to learn change management strategies, develop projects, gather feedback on ideas, and share resources. Projects include creating and funding programs, new majors, new classes, activities that connect the campus and the community, and more. Each member of the cohort will have the opportunity to publish an article in the University Innovation Fellows journal, Change Forward, detailing their project and their progress.
Professor Bradley’s fellowship project will focus on the continued development and leadership of UC’s NEXT Innovation Scholars program, a cohort-based scholarship program that offers UC students full tuition scholarships and participation in signature academic experiences focused on innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
“The timing of this opportunity is perfect when I think about the growth trajectory of UC’s innovation ecosystem, Next Lives Here initiatives, and the NEXT Innovation Scholars program,” explains Bradley. “We’re building infrastructure, developing partnerships and creating new academic programming that all work together to shine a spotlight on UC’s signature strengths and investments in innovation.”
Four UC students from the NEXT Innovation Scholars program have also been named University Innovation Fellows by the Stanford program. Those fellows include Haley Rich, College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning; Lily Stewart, College of Arts and Sciences; and Jonathan Raj and Yulia Martinez, both of the College of Engineering and Applied Science.
NEXT Innovation Scholars, spearheaded by UC President Neville Pinto in alignment with UC’s Next Lives Here strategic direction, launched in 2021 with its first cohort of 10 students from a variety of colleges and majors, including the colleges of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, Engineering and Applied Science, Carl H. Lindner College of Business, Arts and Sciences and College-Conservatory of Music.
Featured image: Aaron Bradley shown at Stanford University's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. Photo submitted.
Be a NEXT Innovation Scholar
Student applications for the fall ’22 cohort of NEXT Innovation Scholars will be accepted through Feb. 13, 2022.
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