Innovation Accelerator & Innovation Showcase – Awards and Next Steps

Dear HMC Community,

As shared in the recent Mudd Minute, the Innovation Showcase was an inspiring and energizing day. We want to thank each of the team members for their outstanding work in preparing their proposals and their presentations to our community. It was truly a joy to witness the creativity, collaboration, and community support that brought these outstanding proposals to life—each one advancing key aspects of our strategic plan. We encourage you to revisit the Innovation Showcase website to see highlights from the event, including recordings of the team project pitches. We have also created a photo album with images captured from the day and have added videos of our Building Our Future Campus and Academic Spotlight sessions. 

Thanks to the thoughtful feedback and ideas from trustees and colleagues, we’ve gained a clearer picture of the opportunity horizon ahead. Following this showcase, the Cabinet and I reviewed the full proposals and determined next steps. 

To create a more cohesive and future-focused framework for this initiative, we made the decision to organize all awarded teams under the shared designation of Innovation Accelerator Laboratory for [Topic Area]. We are pleased to announce and recognize the first of these:

• Innovation Accelerator Laboratory for Data Science and Social Impact
• Innovation Accelerator Laboratory for Emerging Health Technology
• Innovation Accelerator Laboratory for Thriving in the Core Curriculum

Each of these three project teams will receive $240,000 over the next three years to help further develop their projects. Looking ahead, we anticipate offering additional opportunities to participate in our next Innovation Showcase, tentatively planned for early fall 2025.

Thank you once again for your engagement and energy. From the early stages of launching our first Innovation Accelerator and receiving 21 outstanding proposals, to presentations and pitches at our Innovation Showcase, and now to our three projects selected to advance, this has been an outstanding celebration of innovation at Harvey Mudd. Our community’s work has not only jumpstarted our strategic planning efforts, but also helped lay the groundwork for identifying priorities for our upcoming comprehensive fundraising campaign.

I look forward to continuing this important work with all of you as we advance Harvey Mudd College’s mission and vision of STEM for a Better World.

Sincerely,

Harriet B. Nembhard
President