Four Loyola sophomores named University Innovation Fellows

Four Loyola sophomores have been selected as University Innovation Fellows (UIF) by Stanford University.

The four students are Jennifer Bower of Elkton, Md., a biology and psychology major with a minor in sociology; Regina McCoy of Boston, Mass., a speech language hearing science major; Rachel Jarman of Pittsburgh, Pa., a mechanical and material engineering major with minors in mathematics and innovation and entrepreneurship; and Emily Manzo of Shelton, Conn., an English major with a minor in writing.

Challenged to find a way to increase campus engagement with innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and design thinking, this cohort chose to focus on bringing justice to Loyola through innovation and entrepreneurship.

The four Loyola students are among 358 students from 96 higher education institutions throughout the world who have been named University Innovation Fellows. This spring, the fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the Silicon Valley Meetup in California and work with other fellows as well as leaders in education and industry to help their projects and ideas thrive at their universities.

“Loyola is focused on advancing the culture of innovation across our campus,” said Bahram Roughani, Ph.D., associate dean of the natural and applied sciences, who serves as the faculty advisor to Loyola’s UIF. “Through this program, this cohort will have the opportunity to connect with other students from around the world, exchange ideas, and return to campus with insight that will further enhance our university’s conversations around innovation.”

The UIF, an international training and development program for student leaders interested in bringing innovation to their colleges and universities, will give the Loyola students the chance to innovate and create with other students from around the world.

“Stanford will be a meet-up of all the cohorts worldwide,” Manzo said. “We’ll learn about leadership skills and make connections and share our ideas.”

UIF, which is a program of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, was created by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter) and funded by a five-year National Science Foundation grant. Loyola joined the program in 2017. Suzanne Keilson, Ph.D., assistant professor of engineering, also mentors the University Innovation Fellows.