The Schupf Family IdeaLab is a community hub where all are welcome to (imagine and) fashion something new—to take risks, to play, to collaborate, to disrupt existing paradigms, to fail without fear, and to explore the limits of possibility.” More specifically, the IdeaLab is a physical space where teams of students, staff, and faculty can gather to program, prototype, model, and even market their ideas. It is appointed with state-of-the-art tools, a lab manager who oversees the space’s equipment, and a small staff of students. The IdeaLab is also a curricular home for innovative pedagogy. The Schupf Family IdeaLab is a hub of activity for the entire college and a nexus for experimentation, innovation, failure, and triumph. It is a model of collaboration and creativity, both in the classroom and outside of it.
As imagined, the inaugural Director’s charge is threefold: amplifying creativity at Skidmore, especially through making, fostering innovative pedagogy across campus, and overseeing the IdeaLab makerspace and its innumerable possibilities. The position is unique in many ways, including the ability of the inaugural holder to shape it in their image.
