Biography
Dr. Amy Whitney is the Director of the UND Center for Innovation. She is focused on leading the UND Center for Innovation to the next level by using her entrepreneurial and creative problem solving skills and background in town-gown relationship building. She oversees a vibrant center supporting entrepreneurs, students and faculty members in Grand Forks and across North Dakota.
Before joining the Center for Innovation, Whitney was Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Clark University in Worcester, MA. for seven years where she worked on curriculum development, hiring adjunct faculty, strategic planning, student mentorship and business creation, and collaboration with the community, alumni and the university.
Before joining Clark University, Whitney served as an adjunct faculty member teaching online management courses at the Community College of Vermont in Montpelier from 2002 to 2016. In addition, she served as state program coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Boston and Texas, from 2002 to 2009, and as executive director for the MADD Greater Boston Chapter from 1998 to 2002.
Dr. Whitney teaches UNIV 401/501: Design Thinking for Social Innovation starting in Fall 2019 and will be the instructor of record for UNIV 410/510: Design Thinking Internship starting in Spring 2020. These four courses support the teaching, certification and experiential learning foundation of the Innovation Studio at the Center for Innovation.
Whitney, A.A.F. (2018). Developing creative problem solvers: A case study examining a high-impact social innovation fellowship program for undergraduate students. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest 13425517.
Bata, M., Cox-Lanyon, V., Davis, M., & Whitney, A. (2018). When a Student’s “Right to Fail” Harms the University Brand: How a Lack of Guidance in Experiential Learning Affects University–Organization Relationships. Journal of Management Education.
Bata, M. & Whitney, A. (2015). Using Inquiry-Based Learning Outside of the Classroom: How Opportunities for Effective Practice Can Animate Course-Based Learning, in Patrick Blessinger , John M. Carfora (ed.) Inquiry-Based Learning for Multidisciplinary Programs: A Conceptual and Practical Resource for Educators (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Volume 3) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.233 - 252.
Dr. Whitney earned her doctoral degree in education (Ed.D) with a concentration in organizational leadership from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She earned an MBA and bachelor’s degree in American government from Clark University in Worcester, MA.