Morgan State University Newsroom Morgan State University
Morgan State University welcomes three new University Innovation Fellows to its expanding roster of scholars who have been accepted into the global community of student leaders. Run by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school), the program is designed to empower student leadership and encourage students to become agents of change at their school. To-date, the program has trained nearly 2,200 students since its creation.
The three Morgan Fellows includes seniors Jessica Faulkner (Hospitality Management) and Tyler Waugh (Finance) from the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management, and junior Stanley Nwakamma (Electrical and Computer Engineering) from the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. School of Engineering. The three students are among 360 students from 90 higher education institutions in 13 different countries that have been named University Innovation Fellows.
After completing a six-week-training, the selected students become advocates of change at their universities. Fellows work to ensure that their peers gain the attitudes, skills and knowledge required to navigate a complex world, while building the future. At Morgan, the Fellows are spearheading the development of an informative lecture series to benefit the Morgan Community. The series titled, ‘BearOp,’ which is short for bear opportunities, will provide a platform for student organizations to engage with students and the administration and foster a consistent dialogue on an array of enrichment opportunities taking place on Morgan’s campus.
In Spring 2020, the Fellows will travel to Silicon Valley, where they will visit Stanford University and Google Headquarters to learn firsthand best practices in education administration, leadership and innovation ideals. Building upon the Silicon Valley experience, the students will have the opportunity to learn from one another, Stanford and peer mentors, as well as industry and academic leaders. Morgan’s Fellows will also take part in events and conferences throughout the academic year, both nationally and abroad.
“Through this program, Fellows gain skills, mindsets and knowledge to face ever-more complex challenges at their schools and in the world,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “During training, Fellows learn to analyze their campus ecosystems and identify opportunities for change related to innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, and creativity. They work to understand the needs of peers across disciplines and the perspectives of faculty and administrators. They apply this new knowledge and perspective to design new educational opportunities for their peers.”
The University Innovation Fellows program was initially created as part of the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation Epicenter, a five-year National Science Foundation grant.
