Innovation Labs
Innovation Lab topics change from year to year.
Because Innovation Labs are dynamic, problem-solving projects rather than typical content-driven classes, we offer here descriptions of the issues and work undertaken by the instructors — their obsessions, really — rather than conventional course descriptions. Students and instructors will work together to define the courses and chart a path for the academic year.
All Innovation Labs are two-semester sequences; students must complete both semesters (IL1 and IL2) to receive credit.
UHON 2580R (42483) – Innovation Lab I
R, 2:00-4:30
Dr. Andrew Bailey
Drew Bailey is UC Foundation Professor of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and has been at UTC since 2012. He has worked in the field of adventure/environmental education for over 20 years, with more than a dozen organizations. He’s excited to now live in one of the best outdoor towns in the country and truly believes that the natural resources surrounding the Chattanooga area can and should benefit everyone. Drew has conducted research into the economic impacts of outdoor-based tourism to Chattanooga (e.g. Ironman), priorities for park and green-space development in the county, and the physical and psycho-social benefits associated with time spent outdoors. He believes that a city should be optimized to benefit the health and quality of life of all residents that live within it. As Chattanooga expands, develops, and evolves, intentional policies and priorities should be identified in order to ensure that our amazing resources (natural, human, and technological) continue to thrive. A current dream of his is to help facilitate the designation of Chattanooga as a National Park City, which would prioritize healthy, intentional development for residents, while also creating a city that tourists would love to visit.
Drew’s priorities will likely lead to collaboration with established partners in the City and County government, sustainability non-profits, and a variety of public & outdoor organizations (e.g. Rock Creek, Outdoor Chattanooga, public schools, etc.). The fall visioning process will likely include a voluntary trip abroad, to explore another city working toward National Park City designation.
UHON 2580R (42482) – Innovation Lab I
T, 2:00-4:30
Dr. Karissa Peyer
Karissa Peyer is a UC Foundation Associate Professor of Health and Exercise Science in the Department of Health and Human Performance. Early in her career, Karissa served as an Exercise Physiologist at the UW Health Pediatric Fitness Clinic in Madison, WI where she worked with children and families who were trying to become more physically active. She went on to earn her PhD at Iowa State University in Physical Activity and Health Promotion. Karissa considers herself a behavioral researcher and is passionate about how and why people can become more active. She has conducted research related to physical activity behaviors and benefits, physical activity monitoring, motivational interviewing, and family behaviors related to childhood obesity. She also has ongoing collaborations with the Operation Get Active after-school soccer program and White Oak Bicycle Co-op to evaluate the impact of these community programs.
For nearly a decade, Karissa has been involved in the Exercise is Medicine (EIM) movement, a global initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine. The goal of EIM is to incorporate physical activity assessment into medical care and create a link between physicians and community-based physical activity resources to help people become more active where they learn, work and live. In addition to acting as the UTC EIM-On Campus advisor, Karissa serves on the ACSM national Pediatric EIM committee. Karissa’s background with EIM will likely lead to collaborations with the City of Chattanooga that are focused on highlighting the health benefits of physical activity and linking Chattanooga residents to physical activity support in their neighborhoods.
UHON 2580R (46124) – Innovation Lab I
W, 2:00-4:30
Dr. Christopher Acuff
Chris Acuff is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration in the Department of Political Science and Public Service at UTC. A Chattanooga native, Chris holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a Master of Public Administration from UTC. Before returning to Chattanooga, Chris served as a research analyst for the State of Tennessee in Nashville. His research interests focus on state and local government, urban politics, public policy, and political geography. Chris considers himself a “pracademic” (part academic, part practitioner) who works with state and local governments in our area on various projects ranging from land use regulations and urban greenways to open data and performance management.
As part of his work with local governments and research geared towards creating more equitable outcomes for residents, Chris believes that one of the biggest challenges facing cities is housing affordability. This fall’s innovation lab will allow students to explore the multitude of factors that affect affordable housing – or lack thereof – in metropolitan areas by examining the various demographic, economic, geographic, and political elements that impact the housing market. Incorporating this knowledge with a design thinking approach will help students build towards the ultimate goal of developing policy recommendations that can be adopted by the City of Chattanooga to create a more equitable and affordable city as our metropolitan area continues to grow.
- 2022-2023
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UHON 2850 (42483) – Innovation Lab I
R 2:00–4:30Professor Josiah Golson
Josiah Golson is an artist, the Programs Director at Stove Works, and the founder of 800 Collective, a diverse gathering of artists using art as a means of civic engagement. An alumnus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Josiah returned to his hometown after earning his law degree at the University of Texas in Austin. While practicing law, Josiah founded the 800 Collective to creatively drive civic discourse, engagement, and agency. Josiah's work uses accessible art exercises and public projects to enable participants to address social issues in a creative and collaborative way.
Josiah has facilitated workshops and projects at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, The Curb Center at Vanderbilt University, and Project Row Houses in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. Josiah is the author and illustrator of The Souls of Free Folk (Polyphemus Press, 2018), a genre-blending story inspired by the legacy of Black art and activism. Josiah’s current art project, FESTIVAL: An Aquarian Inquiry, explores how one finds identity and community through popular music.
As an educator, Josiah seeks to make the artistic process an accessible tool for furthering necessary dialogues on equity, while centering the voices of those most impacted by the issues. Through engaging a richer scope of voices and history, a variety of contemporary artistic practices, and the principles of design thinking, Josiah hopes to help students build channels of communication and community that can identify challenges and envision solutions.
UHON 2850 (42482) – Innovation Lab I
MW 5:30–6:45Professor Angela Dittmar
Angela Dittmar serves the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts as the Arts Program Coordinator. Prior to joining the team, she coordinated a robust cancer outreach program as a Marketing and Outreach Coordinator at CHI Memorial. Prior to that, Angela enjoyed teaching Painting, Drawing, Foundation, and art history courses in the UTC Department of Art and serving the department as Visual Resource Curator. She is a member of Americans for the Arts and the Arts for Healing Council at CHI Memorial.
As an artist, Angela cross-examines the language of aesthetics and sciences around perception, aesthetics, and neurology. Angela has a proud history of personal and professional growth at UTC - holding BFA in Painting and Drawing and a Psychology minor with honors. Afterwards, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art with honors at Hunter College, City University of New York.
On the side, Angela advocates for social justice focusing on environmental, racial and economic issues. She co-chairs a project currently in its fifth year where gardeners across the region grow sweet potatoes for homeless and refugees. She is a member of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light and GreenFaith.
Angela enjoys gardening at the NEEMA Taking Root Garden on Main Street, swimming, kayaking, hiking, reading, and thinking through art and walking. She believes learning is about embracing our growth through thinking, interpreting, reflecting, and questioning. And she is passionate that the arts are a pathway for those skills to become fully realized. Paul Klee uses the example of the pendulum to illustrate the importance of a growth mentality. You can either spiral inward until you stop at the post or spiral outward for infinite growth.
- 2021-2022
-
UHON 2850 (42483) – Innovation Lab I
R 2:00–4:30Professor Josiah Golson
Josiah Golson is an artist, the Programs Director at Stove Works, and the founder of 800 Collective, a diverse gathering of artists using art as a means of civic engagement. An alumnus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Josiah returned to his hometown after earning his law degree at the University of Texas in Austin. While practicing law, Josiah founded the 800 Collective to creatively drive civic discourse, engagement, and agency. Josiah's work uses accessible art exercises and public projects to enable participants to address social issues in a creative and collaborative way.
Josiah has facilitated workshops and projects at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, The Curb Center at Vanderbilt University, and Project Row Houses in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. Josiah is the author and illustrator of The Souls of Free Folk (Polyphemus Press, 2018), a genre-blending story inspired by the legacy of Black art and activism. Josiah’s current art project, FESTIVAL: An Aquarian Inquiry, explores how one finds identity and community through popular music.
As an educator, Josiah seeks to make the artistic process an accessible tool for furthering necessary dialogues on equity, while centering the voices of those most impacted by the issues. Through engaging a richer scope of voices and history, a variety of contemporary artistic practices, and the principles of design thinking, Josiah hopes to help students build channels of communication and community that can identify challenges and envision solutions.
UHON 2850 (42482) – Innovation Lab I
T 4:30–7:00Professor Angela Dittmar
Angela Dittmar serves the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts as the Arts Program Coordinator. Prior to joining the team, she coordinated a robust cancer outreach program as a Marketing and Outreach Coordinator at CHI Memorial. Prior to that, Angela enjoyed teaching Painting, Drawing, Foundation, and art history courses in the UTC Department of Art and serving the department as Visual Resource Curator. She is a member of Americans for the Arts and the Arts for Healing Council at CHI Memorial.
As an artist, Angela cross-examines the language of aesthetics and sciences around perception, aesthetics, and neurology. Angela has a proud history of personal and professional growth at UTC - holding BFA in Painting and Drawing and a Psychology minor with honors. Afterwards, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art with honors at Hunter College, City University of New York.
On the side, Angela advocates for social justice focusing on environmental, racial and economic issues. She co-chairs a project currently in its fifth year where gardeners across the region grow sweet potatoes for homeless and refugees. She is a member of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light and GreenFaith.
Angela enjoys gardening at the NEEMA Taking Root Garden on Main Street, swimming, kayaking, hiking, reading, and thinking through art and walking. She believes learning is about embracing our growth through thinking, interpreting, reflecting, and questioning. And she is passionate that the arts are a pathway for those skills to become fully realized. Paul Klee uses the example of the pendulum to illustrate the importance of a growth mentality. You can either spiral inward until you stop at the post or spiral outward for infinite growth.
UHON 2850 (43915) – Innovation Lab I
T-Th 12:15–1:30Professor Owen Foster
Owen Foster is Professor of Practice and Director of Innovation in Honors in the Honors College. Quirky and conversational, his journey started as a farm boy in the cotton fields of Alabama, where he began dreaming of how to help the world around him become a better place. Those dreams and life lessons instilled in him on the farm still fuel that passion even today. Owen is a storyteller and shows others that the most powerful way of connecting to people is by relating to them. He believes that every experience is an opportunity to learn something new and that the measure of success is about applying yourself to everything you do.
Owen's background is diverse with experience in architecture, landscape, environmental, and industrial design, Owen has worked on an extensive array of projects ranging from small consumer products to complete green environments for several municipalities around the world to speaking at global summits. In his most recent venture, Owen is a co-founder, director, and overall ‘Troublemaker’ of Aether Global Learning and SHiFT Design Camp. With an amazing team, he looks to create freethinking empathetic practitioners who will passionately lead their local and global communities through logical discourse, impeccable craft, and sound strategic direction. Owen wants to provide a world-class educational experience through platforms for discovery, creation, and reflection for the global community of makers, thinkers, changers, givers, and leaders.
Though successful in those endeavors, becoming an educator and mentor is his calling. His passion for teaching led him to professorships at Auburn University and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the field of industrial design. Recently he held the positions of Industrial Design Group Department chair (industrial design, design management, service design, design for sustainability, business of design, interaction design, and marine design) and professor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Now at UTC, Owen’s goal is to energize students by helping them see the endless possibilities of design.“Imagine a world in which an entire generation feels prepared and empowered to take on any challenge. Let's teach one another, learn from one another, and come together to create something amazing.”
UHON 2850 (43016) – Innovation Lab I
W 2:00–4:30Professors Owen Foster and Brett Hunter
(For information about Owen Foster, see above)
Brett Hunter is an artist, educator, and facilitator recently relocated to Chattanooga. He is dedicated to building partnerships between institutions, individuals, and communities. Brett is trained as a sculptor, building contractor, historian, and teacher. He combines these experiences to develop creative methods to engage the people and infrastructure of a place. He works across civic and educational institutions to create community-based arts organizations and programming that engage people of all ages.As an educator, Brett has over two decades of experience teaching public, research-based, contextual, and socially engaged art, and is dedicated to bringing students out of the school and into the street. As a facilitator, he served as the director the Hornell Community Arts Center in upstate New York and is the co-founder (with Angie To) of Broadway Union, an arts programming organization and set of physical spaces, in Hornell, NY, dedicated to linking artists and their work with the varied communities of Hornell.
As an artist, Brett has work in a wide variety of public venues, and is dedicated to working collaboratively with other artists and communities. From 2014- 2019, Brett collaborated with Andrew Oesch as Ghost and Robot, working on mapping, storytelling, bookmaking, and future envisioning projects with multi-generational groups from afterschool programs, public school classes, summer arts programs, community centers, and other community institutions.
Currently, since 2014, Brett also works as a part of the collaborative Like Riding a Bicycle with Katie Hargrave. Like Riding a Bicycle creates interactive projects that allow groups of all ages and backgrounds to visualize their own knowledge in order to build both individual and collective power, develop connections within their communities, and think beyond the expected. Working in a variety of cities around the United States, including several projects locally in Chattanooga, Like Riding a Bicycle collaborates with local partners to create public engagement events, installation, publications, creative tools, and programming.
- 2020-2021
-
UHON 2850 (42483) – Innovation Lab I
R 2:00–4:30Professors David Steele and Josiah Golson
David Steele is UTC’s director of civic engagement and assistant professor of practice. He has previously taught undergraduate courses in political science, organizational communication, and leadership studies. His academic “homes” have been in history, political science, and communication. Prior to coming to UTC, David served as vice president of policy and education at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. He has also served as chief marketing officer for the Florida Department of Citrus, Polk State College, the University of South Florida’s polytechnic campus, and a tech startup; directed Purdue University’s Center for International Business Education and Research; and served a couple of other chambers of commerce.
David loves history, politics, design, branding, social media, soccer, and Chattanooga. The puzzles he is currently obsessed with include reparations (“How do we account for the persistent and predictable inequities that have intentional, historical roots and devastating consequences?”); institutional design (“How do our values shape the structure of our institutions, and how do our institutions shape our values?”); social capital (“How do identify and cultivate the value of our relationships?”); and issues related to equity and economic mobility (“How do we define and measure ‘the American dream’ and what does that imply about our policy imperatives?”). He lives with his wife and two young children in North Chattanooga.
UHON 2850 (42482) – Innovation Lab I
T 10:00–12:30Professor Angela Dittmar
Angela Dittmar serves the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts as the Arts Program Coordinator. Prior to joining the team, she coordinated a robust cancer outreach program as a Marketing and Outreach Coordinator at CHI Memorial. Prior to that, Angela enjoyed teaching Painting, Drawing, Foundation, and art history courses in the UTC Department of Art and serving the department as Visual Resource Curator. She is a member of Americans for the Arts and the Arts for Healing Council at CHI Memorial.
As an artist, Angela cross-examines the language of aesthetics and sciences around perception, aesthetics, and neurology. Angela has a proud history of personal and professional growth at UTC - holding BFA in Painting and Drawing and a Psychology minor with honors. Afterwards, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art with honors at Hunter College, City University of New York.
On the side, Angela advocates for social justice focusing on environmental, racial and economic issues. She co-chairs a project currently in its fifth year where gardeners across the region grow sweet potatoes for homeless and refugees. She is a member of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light and GreenFaith.
Angela enjoys gardening at the NEEMA Taking Root Garden on Main Street, swimming, kayaking, hiking, reading, and thinking through art and walking. She believes learning is about embracing our growth through thinking, interpreting, reflecting, and questioning. And she is passionate that the arts are a pathway for those skills to become fully realized. Paul Klee uses the example of the pendulum to illustrate the importance of a growth mentality. You can either spiral inward until you stop at the post or spiral outward for infinite growth.
UHON 2850 (43016) – Innovation Lab I
W 2:00 - 4:30Professor Owen Foster
Owen Foster is Professor of Practice and Director of Innovation in Honors in the Honors College. Quirky and conversational, his journey started as a farm boy in the cotton fields of Alabama, where he began dreaming of how to help the world around him become a better place. Those dreams and life lessons instilled in him on the farm still fuel that passion even today. Owen is a storyteller and shows others that the most powerful way of connecting to people is by relating to them. He believes that every experience is an opportunity to learn something new and that the measure of success is about applying yourself to everything you do.
Owen's background is diverse with experience in architecture, landscape, environmental, and industrial design, Owen has worked on an extensive array of projects ranging from small consumer products to complete green environments for several municipalities around the world to speaking at global summits. In his most recent venture, Owen is a co-founder, director, and overall ‘Troublemaker’ of Aether Global Learning and SHiFT Design Camp. With an amazing team, he looks to create freethinking empathetic practitioners who will passionately lead their local and global communities through logical discourse, impeccable craft, and sound strategic direction. Owen wants to provide a world-class educational experience through platforms for discovery, creation, and reflection for the global community of makers, thinkers, changers, givers, and leaders.
Though successful in those endeavors, becoming an educator and mentor is his calling. His passion for teaching led him to professorships at Auburn University and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the field of industrial design. Recently he held the positions of Industrial Design Group Department chair (industrial design, design management, service design, design for sustainability, business of design, interaction design, and marine design) and professor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Now at UTC, Owen’s goal is to energize students by helping them see the endless possibilities of design.“Imagine a world in which an entire generation feels prepared and empowered to take on any challenge. Let's teach one another, learn from one another, and come together to create something amazing.”
- 2019-2020
-
UHON 2850 (47281) – Innovation Lab I
M 2:00–4:30Dr. Steven Olson
Steve Olson is Distinguished Lecturer of Marketing and Entrepreneurship and Assistant Director of Executive Education in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business. An insatiable learner and activator of learning, Steve’s lifelong passion is to help every person exceed his or her imagined potential. Prior to joining UTC, Steve taught at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, and Kennesaw State’s Coles College of Business. He also taught at Emory Medical School and Emory's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Steve has held visiting professorships at New York University’s Stern School of Business, University of Oxford (UK), Santa Clara University, and Wichita State University. Steve also co-founded and managed Generative Consulting, which served as the leadership development arm of the Great Place to Work Institute and its Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For" project. Several of Steve’s clients appear on that list, including the #1 Best Place to Work in America in 1999. He has trained over two thousand managers and senior executives on leadership and innovation and maintains an active practice in both fields.
Steve believes that students learn innovation best when they pursue their own passions and interests and when teachers get alongside them and learn with them. In past I-Labs, students have pursued varied projects, from tutoring, mentoring, and college preparation to mindfulness, recycling, homelessness, and dog parks. Steve currently focuses his own innovation work on applying the science of learning to digital, competency-based program designs. For the past three years he has been pioneering the micro-learning movement in executive education and is leading UTCs foray into competency-based education.
Steve gets re-energized by running, swimming, surfing, sailing, whitewater canoeing, hunting and hiking. He lives in Chattanooga with his wife and two children.
UHON 2850 (42483) – Innovation Lab I
R 2:00–4:30Professor David Steele
David Steele is UTC’s director of civic engagement and assistant professor of practice. He has previously taught undergraduate courses in political science, organizational communication, and leadership studies. His academic “homes” have been in history, political science, and communication. Prior to coming to UTC, David served as vice president of policy and education at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. He has also served as chief marketing officer for the Florida Department of Citrus, Polk State College, the University of South Florida’s polytechnic campus, and a tech startup; directed Purdue University’s Center for International Business Education and Research; and served a couple of other chambers of commerce.
David loves history, politics, design, branding, social media, soccer, and Chattanooga. The puzzles he is currently obsessed with include reparations (“How do we account for the persistent and predictable inequities that have intentional, historical roots and devastating consequences?”); institutional design (“How do our values shape the structure of our institutions, and how do our institutions shape our values?”); social capital (“How do identify and cultivate the value of our relationships?”); and issues related to equity and economic mobility (“How do we define and measure ‘the American dream’ and what does that imply about our policy imperatives?”). He lives with his wife and two young children in North Chattanooga.
UHON 2850 (42483) – Innovation Lab I
M 4:30–7:00Professors Laurie Melnik Allen and Angela Dittmar
Laurie Melnik Allen is the Executive Director of the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts (SCEA) at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Laurie has an M.F.A. in Theatre with a Concentration in Theatre for Young Audiences from the University of Central Florida and an M.P.A. in Nonprofit Management from UTC. She believes the arts make a powerful impact in everyone’s lives and advocates 24/7 for all communities to have access to quality arts learning experiences. Whether it’s early childhood, K-12, higher education, or workforce development, Laurie is passionate about teaching a variety of skills in and through the arts. Growing up, Laurie was very active in theatre and dance and owes a lot to the arts for helping her in school and throughout life.
Laurie believes learning is and should be messy. She enjoys collaborating with students to solve problems (the bigger the better!), especially community issues around arts education, social emotional learning, and creative placemaking. Her favorite way to enter a problem is through children’s books. She believes children’s books offer a quick way to build a common language and nobody is ever too old for a great picture book. Some of her favorites: Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg, What Do You Do With An Idea? By Kobi Yamada, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, The Trip by Ezra Jack Keats, and They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel.
Angela Dittmar serves the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts as the Arts Program Coordinator. Prior to joining the team, she coordinated a robust cancer outreach program as a Marketing and Outreach Coordinator at CHI Memorial. Prior to that, Angela enjoyed teaching Painting, Drawing, Foundation, and art history courses in the UTC Department of Art and serving the department as Visual Resource Curator. She is a member of Americans for the Arts and the Arts for Healing Council at CHI Memorial.
As an artist, Angela cross-examines the language of aesthetics and sciences around perception, aesthetics, and neurology. Angela has a proud history of personal and professional growth at UTC - holding BFA in Painting and Drawing and a Psychology minor with honors. Afterwards, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art with honors at Hunter College, City University of New York.
On the side, Angela advocates for social justice focusing on environmental, racial and economic issues. She co-chairs a project currently in its fifth year where gardeners across the region grow sweet potatoes for homeless and refugees. She is a member of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, Tennessee Interfaith Power & Light and GreenFaith.
Angela enjoys gardening at the NEEMA Taking Root Garden on Main Street, swimming, kayaking, hiking, reading, and thinking through art and walking. She believes learning is about embracing our growth through thinking, interpreting, reflecting, and questioning. And she is passionate that the arts are a pathway for those skills to become fully realized. Paul Klee uses the example of the pendulum to illustrate the importance of a growth mentality. You can either spiral inward until you stop at the post or spiral outward for infinite growth.
UHON 2850 (43016) – Innovation Lab I
W 2:00 - 4:30Professor Owen Foster
Owen Foster is Professor of Practice and Director of Innovation in Honors in the Honors College. Quirky and conversational, his journey started as a farm boy in the cotton fields of Alabama, where he began dreaming of how to help the world around him become a better place. Those dreams and life lessons instilled in him on the farm still fuel that passion even today. Owen is a storyteller and shows others that the most powerful way of connecting to people is by relating to them. He believes that every experience is an opportunity to learn something new and that the measure of success is about applying yourself to everything you do.
Owen's background is diverse with experience in architecture, landscape, environmental, and industrial design, Owen has worked on an extensive array of projects ranging from small consumer products to complete green environments for several municipalities around the world to speaking at global summits. In his most recent venture, Owen is a co-founder, director, and overall ‘Troublemaker’ of Aether Global Learning and SHiFT Design Camp. With an amazing team, he looks to create freethinking empathetic practitioners who will passionately lead their local and global communities through logical discourse, impeccable craft, and sound strategic direction. Owen wants to provide a world-class educational experience through platforms for discovery, creation, and reflection for the global community of makers, thinkers, changers, givers, and leaders.
Though successful in those endeavors, becoming an educator and mentor is his calling. His passion for teaching led him to professorships at Auburn University and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the field of industrial design. Recently he held the positions of Industrial Design Group Department chair (industrial design, design management, service design, design for sustainability, business of design, interaction design, and marine design) and professor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Now at UTC, Owen’s goal is to energize students by helping them see the endless possibilities of design.“Imagine a world in which an entire generation feels prepared and empowered to take on any challenge. Let's teach one another, learn from one another, and come together to create something amazing.”
- 2018-2019
-
UHON 2850 (47274) – Innovation Lab I
M 2:00–4:30Dr. Steven Olson
Steve Olson is Distinguished Lecturer of Marketing and Entrepreneurship and Assistant Director of Executive Education in the College of Business. An insatiable learner and activator of learning, Steve’s lifelong passion is to help every person exceed his or her imagined potential. Steve’s has taught at Emory University’s Business School, Medical School, and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, New York University’s Stern School of Business, University of Oxford (UK), Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University and Wichita State University. He has trained over two thousand managers and senior executives on leadership, innovation and ethics, both in the U.S. and abroad. For his efforts, Steve has been recognized as the top teacher, outstanding professor, best lecturer, or most influential professor nine times.
Steve believes that students learn best when teachers learn with them. Steve’s own learning currently focuses on applying the science of learning to digital and blended course designs. For the past two years he has been pioneering the micro-learning movement in executive education.
When he’s not deep at work in his study, you will find Steve serving and learning with organizations trying solve the world’s toughest problems—homelessness, poverty, educational disparity, war, and healing & homecoming for our veterans and their families. Steve gets re-energized by swimming, surfing, sailing, whitewater canoeing, hunting and hiking. Steve loves spending quality time with friends and his wife and two children.
UHON 2850 (47275) – Innovation Lab I
R 2:00–4:30Dr. Andrew Bailey
Drew Bailey is UC Foundation Assistant Professor of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism and has been at UTC since 2012. He has worked in the field of adventure/environmental education for over 20 years, with more than a dozen organizations. He’s excited to now live in one of the best outdoor towns in the country and truly believes that the natural resources surrounding the Chattanooga area can and should benefit everyone. Drew has conducted research into the economic impacts of outdoor-based tourism to Chattanooga (e.g. Ironman), priorities for park and green-space development in the county, and the physical and psycho-social benefits associated with time spent outdoors. He views the poor state of physical and mental health in the region as one of the most pressing issues. A perfect storm of sedentary lifestyles, systemic barriers (e.g. car-dependent culture, lack of physical education in schools), and unequal access to resources have contributed to rampant chronic illness. It is perplexing that “America’s best outdoor town” (Outside Magazine, 2015) should also be one of the least healthy. To remedy this, Dr. Bailey would like to explore the idea of equal access to outdoor activities, increasing diversity in outdoor environments, and lay the foundation for replacing prescription medications with outdoor prescriptions (c.f. Outdoors.org).
Drew’s priorities will likely lead to collaboration with established partners in the City and County government, family health providers, and a variety of outdoor organizations (e.g. Rock Creek, Roots Rated, Wild Trails, etc.).
UHON 2850 (50232) – Innovation Lab I
T 2:00–4:30
Dr. Cecelia Wigal
Cecelia Wigal is a Professor of Engineering with degrees in electrical and industrial engineering and has held many roles in the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science. Cecelia comes from an industry background where she helped design electric power systems for aircraft. Her academic focus is on anything that involves systems thinking. She teaches engineering design courses, project-based instruction courses, information systems courses, and systems modeling courses. Cecelia’s primary areas of research include complex system analysis and quality process analysis with respect to nontraditional applications such as service systems. Cecelia is particularly interested in improving the lives of those with physical and mental disabilities so they can be independent and personally engaged members of society. Cecelia is constantly moving, experiencing life, enjoying the environment, and trying new experiences. She is known as an endurance athlete. She completes one new experience every year, such as swim 10 miles in the Tennessee River. She believes there is nothing we can not do if we have the desire. Cecelia also believes there is no stopping our learning – the world is there for us and all should have the opportunity to learn from it and experience it to its fullest!