The Johnson-Turner IDEA Center Finding solutions for today's obstacles
We have big ideas at Culver-Stockton College, but it’s not just about the idea, it’s about creating an environment that nurtures those ideas, gives them structure, and provides an opportunity to use them to change the world. This is the place for possibilities – where students are encouraged to apply knowledge in bold, creative ways and where problems meet solutions.
The Johnson-Turner IDEA Center
Dedicated Spring 2022
The Johnson-Turner IDEA Center, located at the heart of campus, is the central focus of our campus community, serving as a hub for innovative curriculum, teaching and student-driven projects and programs. The Center provides a physical space for students to collaborate, explore and engage in problem-solving, innovative and critical-thinking and productive discussions.
An entrepreneurial, innovative, solutions-driven ecosystem comprised of students, faculty, mentors, business owners, community stakeholders and regional corporate partners gather in this space to elevate critical thinking, deepen knowledge and understanding, and solve real-world problems facing our local, regional and global communities.
Beyond learning, the Johnson-Turner IDEA Center encourages students to identify the real challenges around them, in our local community and around the globe, and creatively and thoughtfully design and apply solutions. The Center not only encourages innovation and entrepreneurship but a mindset to identify and assess the impact that enterprise decisions make on local economies, supply chains, economic markets, production streams and individuals.
Each academic year, students will work in an interdisciplinary group to tackle a large, real-world problem, design a solution followed by a presentation to the regional, national or global partner.
A Place for Possibilities
Applied Design Thinking
Design Thinking provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. The Johnson-Turner IDEA Center encourages design thinking by guiding students through problem-based exercises and practices that re-frame these problems in human-centric ways. This allows for creative brainstorming sessions, adopting a hands-on approach in creating services and products and testing. We teach students to ask the right questions so that outcomes can be obtained. As students progress through their time at Culver-Stockton College, they will learn how to approach decision-making in a deliberate and innovative way; a way that creates successful outcomes that provide value to their own work and employers and promotes growth and deep understanding.
Interdisciplinary Groups
In the Johnson-Turner IDEA Center students have the opportunity to collaborate in interdisciplinary groups, allowing them to leverage the skills and abilities of one another to support peer objectives. Students learn from members of faculty, alumni mentors, community stakeholders, and visiting experts-in-residence.
Research
The Johnson-Turner IDEA Center provides resources to support research objectives and outcomes. Studies at the IDEA Center may be conducted through online portals or in person. Participants are asked to complete surveys, make business, social or ethical decisions, participate in simulated activities such as negotiations, rate consumer goods or take part in focus groups.
Learning to Launch
The Johnson-Turner IDEA Center, serving as a hub of innovation for the Culver-Stockton community and its collaborators, provides the instruction and tools needed to compile a strategy for launching, implementing, and sustaining an idea, project, or solution. Educational programs and focused curriculum create a unique learning environment for classes.
With courses to learn and explore the mindset of social change innovators, trailblazing business leaders, and entrepreneurs, the Johnson-Turner IDEA Center will serve as an engine for student achievement and community development, growth and prosperity.