2021 Cohort, 2023 uiguides, 2024-cohort-mentor
68
edits
Changes
Updated for 2024-25
[[File:Rowan UIF hosting.jpg|thumb|Rowan UIF Convention April 2017|link=Special:FilePath/Rowan_UIF_hosting.jpg]]
Greetings! My name is [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdominikphd/ Mike Dominik], and I'm a Senior Lecturer faculty member an Associate Teaching Professor at [https://www.rowan.edu/ Rowan University] in Glassboro, NJ, USA. My diverse academic background includes BS Electrical Engineering (Rutgers University), MS Engineering Management of Technology (University of Pennsylvania), MBA (Rowan University), and PhD in Organizational Leadership (Eastern University). My career includes 16 years as an engineer with [https://ethw.org/RCA_(Radio_Corporation_of_America) RCA], General Electric and Lockheed Martin, followed by 16 more years as a two-time technology entrepreneur (the software startup I co-founded called [https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130910005181/en/PTC-Expands-Technology-Deployment-Options-with-Acquisition-of-Hosting-Provider-NetIDEAS NetIDEAS was acquired by Parametric Technology Corporation]). I have proudly served as an [https://business.rowan.edu/faculty-staff/dominik-faculty.html educator at Rowan University] since 2016.
Rowan University is [https://today.rowan.edu/news/2023/02/rowan-on-the-rise.html#:~:text=Recognized%20as%20the%20nation's%20third,doubled%20in%20the%20last%20decade. the USA's third-fastest-growing public research university], and has nearly doubled in size in the past decade, from around 10.000 students in 2010 to nearly 23,000 as of 2023. With growth comes challenges - and also OPPORTUNITY and a need to be innovative and entrepreneurial (the entrepreneurial mindset). Rowan's first Leadership Circle of Fellows was formed in 2016, and two more leadership circles followed in 2018 and 2019. COVID in 2020 caused us to put a hold on UIF for one year, but came back in 2021 with another four students!
'''Rowan UIF Cohort 3: 2019-2020''': [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-weinberg-rowan/ Michael Weinberg], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-price-a3a05b195/ Alison Price], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillian-castaldo-aa277617a/ Gillian Castaldo], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-debiasse-5a8649163/ Erin DeBiasse]. Rowan's third cohort worked hard to successfully design an impactful program based on [https://sites.rowan.edu/publicsafety/clery/csa/index.html campus public safety], but COVID-19 arrived in early 2020, and the team had to back off from its ambitious plans. Before graduating from Rowan in 2022, Erin studied abroad at the [https://www.upf.edu/en/ Univeritat Pompeu Fabara] in Barcelona, Spain, and began her career as a planner for the iconic Macy's retail business in New York City. Alison has launched her biomedical engineering career in the New York City area at [https://celularity.com/ Celularity], and Gillian has started her career at [https://www.stonefieldeng.com/ Stonefield Engineering] in Princeton NJ. Michael graduated in Spring 2022, and [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-weinberg-rowan/ brings his Design Thinking skills] to his work in the construction industry and as a freelance 3D printing entrepreneur. [[File:Dominik Rowan headshot 2021 resized smaller.jpg|thumb|link=Special:FilePath/Dominik_Rowan_headshot_2021_resized_smaller.jpg|Dr. Michael Dominik|218x218px]]'''Rowan UIF Cohort 4: 2021-2022''': [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenyon-burgess-a33144200/ Kenyon Burgess], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aatish-gupta-8b830419a/ Aatish Gupta], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shruti-dalwadi/ Shruti Dalwadi], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabella-marshall-20bb41194/ Isabella Marshall]. Ambitious and motivated, our fourth Rowan cohort may have have realized the most of their grand vision from among all of our Fellows. Overachievers all, their UIF project featured hosting a three-day on-campus [https://sites.google.com/students.rowan.edu/rowan-innovation-weekend/who-we-are?authuser=0 Innovation Weekend] event in April 2022 for students to engage in a Design Thinking event to develop ideas and solutions to address Rowan campus mental health and resources challenges. But beyond just completing their campus improvement project, in 2023, two of these Fellows (Aatish and Kenyon) conceived of a College of Engineering clinic project on Design Thinking, to bring pedagogical resources on Design Thinking to all Rowan colleges (there are 13) across the entire University. The most evident examples of their achievement are the creation of the [https://sites.google.com/students.rowan.edu/dt-rowan/learning-modules?authuser=0 Rowan Design Thinking website] and the Rowan [https://www.youtube.com/@rowandttv Design Thinking TV channel] on YouTube. Check it out!
'''Rowan UIF Cohort 5: 2023-2024''': It's a joy and privilege to be the Faculty Champion for Rowan's University Innovation Fellows, and I am excited to see what our next this cohort of 2023-24 Fellows will accomplish! These high-potential students are [https://www.linkedin.com/in/etran822/ Erica Tran], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/resty-m-b5428a23a/ Resty Mercado], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissa-pestritto1/ Marissa Pestritto], and [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshdgz/ Joshua DeGuzman] - organized an impactful Multi-Cultural Day of Innovation, held in March 2024. This work influenced the path taken by the next Cohort... '''Rowan UIF Cohort 6: 2024-2025:''' This cohort really elevated the game and delivered one of the most impactful projects from the Rowan UIF program - they brought the TEDx program to Rowan University for the very first time! Held on April 25, 2025, this event featured eight speakers - six Rowan alumni and two active Rowan students - who each gave compelling 15-minute talks about innovation and entrepreneurship. Bravo to this high-achieving team: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-pennington-6a68b9256/ Elizabeth Pennington], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aiden-tahmazian/ Aiden Tahmazian], [https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-van-ru/ Victoria Van], and [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sapjahzapotitla/ Sapjah Zapotitla].
[[File:2021 Rowan UIF Stakeholder Meeting.jpg|thumb|link=Special:FilePath/2021_Rowan_UIF_Stakeholder_Meeting.jpg]]
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