Faculty and Consultant Profiles
Innovation Studies Faculty Director
Arthur Harkins
Ph.D. in sociology, University of Kansas.
Arthur Harkins is an associate professor with the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota and an adjunct associate professor in the Master of Liberal Studies program. He was co-director of the Graduate Concentration in Future Cultural and Educational Systems and recently co-wrote “The Future as Culture,” a monograph for the journal Futurics. Liberal Studies and Innovation Studies seminars taught have included: “Designing Professional Futures,” “Creativity, Imagination, and Innovation,” “Plaid Collar: Knowledge Workers and Their Organizational Support,” “Backcasting and Forecasting the Innovation Society,” “Innovative Responses to Terrorism,” “Introduction to Innovation Studies,” “Leapfrog Practices in Innovation Leadership,” and “Creating Brand Me: Self Development Through Personalized Knowledge,” plus numerous one-credit workshops.
Innovation Studies Faculty
Fred Amram
Fred M. B. Amram, M.A., University of Minnesota, is a professor emeritus in General College at the U of M. He has been head of the Division of Arts, Communication, and Philosophy, as well as Director of Academic Affairs. He has won the Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award and has taught courses in the areas of speech communication and creativity. Professor Amram is an author of books and articles about creativity, invention, robotics, and communication, and curator of several exhibitions displaying the achievements of women inventors. He has provided worldwide consulting services to industry, government agencies, and educational institutions. He teaches the seminar "From Fantasy to Reality: Creativity at Work and Play.”
Barbara Crosby
Barbara Crosby, Ph.D. in leadership studies, with a concentration in political philosophies, international relations, social movements, and intercultural communication. She is a senior fellow and director of the Reflective Leadership Center at the HHH Institute of Public Affairs, U of M. She has written extensively about leadership, women in public positions, media and public policy, and planning. Crosby is a published author, contributor for national journals, and winner of a Terry McAdam Award from the Nonprofit Management Association. She teaches the seminar "Leadership and Change in an Innovation Society" for Public Affairs, Liberal Studies, and the Innovation Studies Program.
John Hasselberg
John Hasselberg, M.B.A., from the Carlson School of Management, and a J.D., U of M Law School. He is an associate professor of management at the College of St. Benedict/St. John's University. That means he gets to drive out to Lake Wobegon to work every day. He has been a lecturer with the U of M for 20 years, including with the Carlson School and with the Applied Business Program. He is particularly intrigued by the ethical and cultural aspects of international organizational strategy and works actively to build links between Minnesotans, Scandinavians, and Chinese people. He teaches "Nordic Judo" Global Leveraging of Technology, Culture, and Foreign Policy."
David Schuelke
David Schuelke, Ph.D., in rhetoric. He taught at the U of M for the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and the Department of Rhetoric, and served as head of Rhetoric from 1972-79. Since 1983 he has taught organizational leadership at Bethel College in St. Paul, and also teaches courses in the areas of organizational behavior and conflict management. He is a developer of Internet and distance education course materials, has co-authored three college textbooks, and is a consultant to local corporations and government agencies. He teaches “The Rhetoric of Innovation and Change: Past, Present, and Future.”
David Shupe
David Shupe, Ph.D., worked at Control Data Corporation in the 1980s, and as director of the MLS program at the U of M in the 1990s. Presently he runs eLumen Collaborative, an educational consulting business. Innvoation Studies seminars include "Chaos and Complexity," and "Emergent Patterns in Human Affairs."
Innovation Studies Consultants
Jerry Allen
Jerry Allan, M.A., Architecture, University of Minnesota. He was founder and president of Criteria Architects, Inc. and Criteria Foundation, and has taught in the U of M’s School of Architecture. Mr. Allan has been a faculty member at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design since 1978, and was chairman of Visual Studies from 1979-91. He teaches, trains, and facilitates in the areas of creativity, futures, new product development, and staff development for both the public and private sectors. His current project is “Five Great Ideas the World Needs.”
Christia Blomquist
Christia Blomquist has been a graphic designer for over 25 years, specializing in the design and management of organizational communications and publications. She has worked for organizations such as Minnesota Public Radio, Minnesota Monthly magazine, Utne Reader magazine, and the University of Minnesota. Christia attended the College of Design, Art and Architecture at the University of Cincinnati, received a B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin, and an M.A. in Liberal Studies from the University of Minnesota. Her ongoing academic interest is the application of innovation concepts to the areas of visual communications, cultural studies, and human development. While in the MLS program she helped to design the post-baccalaureate certificate program in Innovation Studies and has taught a number of classes in the program. Recently she helped to design a post-baccalaureate certificate program in graphic design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and is currently teaching in that program as well as working as a graphic designer at the University of St. Thomas.
George Kubik
George Kubik is a former Strategic Futurist, Strategic Planner, and Executive for the Federal Government. He is currently a PhD candidate in Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota. George is researching the relationship of technology, electronic performance enhancement systems, and innovative systems thinking to the future of work and workforce preparation. He is President of the Minnesota Chapter of the World Future Society and has published numerous professional papers for international organizations and journals.
John Moravec
Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration, University of Minnesota. John Moravec is the Innovation and Integrated Technology Coordinator at the University of Minnesota. He is the co-founder of the Horizon Forum, a PreK-17 round-table on the future of education; the co-principal of the Global Leapfrog Institute; and is a founding member of the Future Education Laboratory (a joint project between the University of Minnesota and FLACSO México). “I am concerned about human capital development as society approaches an increasingly complex and ambiguous future. Technological change drives social change and its impact is accelerating exponentially. Our schools, universities and other institutions must leapfrog ahead of this curve for all people to compete in highly-globalized, knowledge- and innovation-based societies. My work focuses on exploring this New Paradigm, and the new approaches to leadership and human capital development required. My approach is global in scope, and I actively collaborate with colleagues in the United States, Latin America, China, and Central Europe.”
John Tomsyck
M.L.S. and Innovation Studies Certificate focusing on the emergence of the Innovative Knowledge Worker, University of Minnesota. John Tomsyck has assisted in the development of the Innovation Studies program while a University of Minnesota Master of Liberal Studies student and has been a co-instructor in a number of MLS/IS seminars. He is a partner in the Ronin Advisory Investment Management firm, an independent personal financial service firm focused on developing and maintaining individual support systems. Mr. Tomsyck combines a strong background in financial market analysis, technology and new business development, and academic degrees in Electrical Engineering (University of Iowa) and a MLS. His expertise extends across research and development, strategic planning, knowledge management, forecasting, business intelligence and futurism methodologies. He has an extensive record of advising 3M Company senior management and served as Chief Knowledge Officer of a financial services firm.
Byron Schneider
Ph.D. in Educational Administration, University of Chicago. Byron Schneider is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development and an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Since 1995 he has been an active participant as these organizations undergo change and has continued to emphasize in his professional work that education occurs in communities. He has helped develop and expand the Youth Development Leadership program, an individualized, experiential graduate program and has continued outreach to previously underserved communities. He is currently President of the Minnesota Coalition to Celebrate our Differences and of the Minnesota Council of CampFire.
