CCA’s new institute looks for creative ways to solve problems
Plans for Institute for Innovation in Arts and Design started to take shape in late 2024
Published
Miami University recently launched its new Institute for Innovation in Arts and Design in the College of Creative Arts.
CCA’s new institute looks for creative ways to solve problems
Published
The timing was right for Miami University’s new Institute for Innovation in Arts and Design.
Todd Stuart, director of Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship and the new institute director, saw the benefits the institute could bring to the College of Creative Arts (CCA) and Miami students. From creative problem solving to innovative programming and fundraising opportunities, Stuart is excited and energized with the institute’s potential.
“The institute will foster creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration, empowering the Miami University community to engage with the arts and design as a catalyst for innovation,“ Stuart said. “Through dynamic programming, we will inspire curiosity, critical thinking, career readiness, and civic engagement. Our goal is to cultivate creative problem-solving and transformative leadership within communities and industries.”
Stuart estimated there are around 80 students in the Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship major. That number grows to 120 counting students with the Arts Management co-major. Those majors will be housed in the institute, as will the minor offered in Arts Management and new curriculum initiatives
Support from Miami’s leadership, including CCA dean Ryan Fisher, was instrumental in launching the institute. While Stuart had been envisioning the institute for quite some time, plans started to take shape following the end of the 2024 fall semester.
“When the dean gave me the go ahead, it was pretty quick,” said Stuart, who has been a member of Miami’s faculty since 2014. “I had done a lot of work and research prior, so that helped with the quick launch. We knew where we wanted to go, and it will be a matter of putting the pieces together.”
Those pieces include providing a foundation to advance innovative thinking and doing by creating programming to engage students, faculty, and staff. Systems are being created, along with the recruiting of an advisory board.
The institute will serve as a platform to help students bring entrepreneurial ideas into action, Stuart said, pointing to several past examples, like a student who had written a musical in high school and went on to produce it at Miami. Another involves donated artworks used by members of Stuart’s Art Innovation Lab to learn about arts markets and how to sell art.
Miami students also produced a live music event at the Lee and Rosemary Fisher Innovation College@Elm. There are plans in the works to hold an upcoming music festival in Oxford during the spring, again planned by students.
Future programming plans include an innovation training program, an idea factory, and creating an innovation fellows program.
“We created metrics to measure success for the institute, though the real measure will be whether students, faculty, staff, and community can articulate the impact the institute had on them,” Stuart said.
Todd Stuart, director of Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship and the new institute director, saw the benefits the institute could bring to the College of Creative Arts (CCA) and Miami students. From creative problem solving to innovative programming and fundraising opportunities, Stuart is excited and energized with the institute’s potential.
“The institute will foster creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration, empowering the Miami University community to engage with the arts and design as a catalyst for innovation,“ Stuart said. “Through dynamic programming, we will inspire curiosity, critical thinking, career readiness, and civic engagement. Our goal is to cultivate creative problem-solving and transformative leadership within communities and industries.”
Stuart estimated there are around 80 students in the Arts Management and Arts Entrepreneurship major. That number grows to 120 counting students with the Arts Management co-major. Those majors will be housed in the institute, as will the minor offered in Arts Management and new curriculum initiatives
Support from Miami’s leadership, including CCA dean Ryan Fisher, was instrumental in launching the institute. While Stuart had been envisioning the institute for quite some time, plans started to take shape following the end of the 2024 fall semester.
“When the dean gave me the go ahead, it was pretty quick,” said Stuart, who has been a member of Miami’s faculty since 2014. “I had done a lot of work and research prior, so that helped with the quick launch. We knew where we wanted to go, and it will be a matter of putting the pieces together.”
Those pieces include providing a foundation to advance innovative thinking and doing by creating programming to engage students, faculty, and staff. Systems are being created, along with the recruiting of an advisory board.
The institute will serve as a platform to help students bring entrepreneurial ideas into action, Stuart said, pointing to several past examples, like a student who had written a musical in high school and went on to produce it at Miami. Another involves donated artworks used by members of Stuart’s Art Innovation Lab to learn about arts markets and how to sell art.
Miami students also produced a live music event at the Lee and Rosemary Fisher Innovation College@Elm. There are plans in the works to hold an upcoming music festival in Oxford during the spring, again planned by students.
Future programming plans include an innovation training program, an idea factory, and creating an innovation fellows program.
“We created metrics to measure success for the institute, though the real measure will be whether students, faculty, staff, and community can articulate the impact the institute had on them,” Stuart said.
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the College of Creative Arts? Visit the website for more information.
