STAFF
Read about the people who manage the program.
Rebecca Hawthorne, Ph.D.
Program Director
innovationscholars@mnprivatecolleges.org
Hawthorne serves as Innovation Scholars Program Director, focused on building a sustainable, cutting-edge, experiential learning model that engages liberal arts students at the intersections of disciplinary learning and real life problem-solving. She holds a doctorate in program design and evaluation from Stanford University’s School of Education and is a professor emerita in organizational leadership at St. Catherine University.
Maura Donovan, Ph.D.
Academic Director
maura.donovan@mnprivatecolleges.org
Donovan is a Principal with Summit Innovation Partners, LLC and joins the IS team as Academic Program Director. She previously served as Vice President for Economic Engagement at Marquette University and as Executive Director of the University of Minnesota’s Office of Economic Development. In addition, she served as Chief Technology Officer for the Decade of Discovery, a joint applied research initiative between the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic. Prior to her academic roles, Donovan spent more than 20 years at Medtronic, Inc. and has extensive leadership experience in the medical device and biotechnology industries. Donovan is a graduate of Macalester College and holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Washington.
Liz Jansen, Ph.D.
Partnerships Director
innovationscholars@mnprivatecolleges.org
Jansen is a retired professor of biology and neuroscience at Macalester College where she taught courses in neuroscience and reproductive biology. The teamwork and multidisciplinarity of Innovation Scholars inspires Jansen who sees the program as a fruitful application of a liberal arts education. Jansen graduated from the (then) College of St. Thomas and holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota. Liz curates projects for Innovation Scholars.
Mary Morris
Program Administrator
innovationscholars@mnprivatecolleges.org
Morris is a graduate of St. Olaf College with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Norwegian. She works as an Outdoor Education Specialist with the Three Rivers Park District in Maple Plain, Minnesota. She brings administrative and program facilitation experience from her career in outdoor education, as well as volunteer work with the Minnesota Naturalists’ Association, the Minnesota Orienteering Club, and the League of Women Voters. The Innovation Scholars program aligns well with her commitment to hands-on, experiential, and multidisciplinary learning.