Six faculty members named 2025–26 Shift Labs Faculty Fellow Awardees

The Office of Innovation and Strategic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University has named six faculty members as 2025-26 Shift Labs Faculty Fellow Awardees in recognition of their active participation in Shift Labs programming and their commitment to innovation and entrepreneurial thinking.

Shift Labs, an offering of the Office of Innovation and Strategic Design, brings an interdisciplinary approach to innovation and entrepreneurial thinking in the context of existing disciplines. Through Shift Labs, students, faculty and community members learn new skills, apply them in real time and move ideas from concept to real-world impact.

Today, VCU is home to the Shift Retail Lab, Shift Health Lab, Shift Education Lab and Shift Sustainability Lab. The newly launched faculty fellow awards will become an annual recognition of faculty members who are helping shape the future of innovation at VCU and beyond.

“Innovation and entrepreneurial thinking are critical skills for our students and play an increasing role in the delivery of higher education,” said Garret Westlake, Ph.D., vice provost for innovation and strategic design. “These outstanding faculty members have completed continuing education to advance their innovation and entrepreneurial capacity and are applying these skills in their teaching and research.”

This year’s awardees are:

Kim McKnight, Ph.D., director of the Center for Teacher Leadership in the School of Education. 

This year, McKnight led a study abroad trip to Lisbon, Portugal, where she leveraged her innovative approach to teacher education to build global experiences for VCU students as well as foster new partnerships abroad. Her leadership of the RTR teacher preparation program and the VCUxCodeRVA Lab School offer McKnight powerful platforms to advance innovation and entrepreneurial thinking throughout systems of education.

Christopher Gough, Ph.D., executive director of Rice Rivers Center and a professor in the School of Life Sciences and Sustainability in the College of Humanities and Sciences. 

The programs and collaborations at Rice Rivers Center reflect Gough’s commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. The newly launched Shift Sustainability Lab at Rice Rivers Center is building new partnerships between the School of Education, School of Life Sciences and Sustainability, and Henrico County Public Schools. Thanks to collaboration with external agencies including NASA, VCU can enhance STEM education in the region by connecting Rice Rivers Center resources and faculty with K12 students, teachers and community members. 

Christian Bergman, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine in the School of Medicine, and Kristin MacDonald, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Administration in the College of Health Professions.

Bergman and MacDonald are reimagining the role of long-term care centers through their work with the Virginia Long-term Care Clinician Network. An interdisciplinary research team, they are exploring how innovation and entrepreneurship tools can help providers improve long-term care access and services in Virginia.

Carolyn Hawley, Ph.D., a professor in the Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling Program in the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling in the College of Health Professions, and Jared Schultz, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling in the College of Health Professions.

Hawley and Schultz recently collaborated on a grant to address youth gambling through an interdisciplinary lens. Shift Labs benefits from the domain expertise of faculty like Schultz and Hawley joining forces with other researchers trained in innovation to develop new models and interventions that solve some of society’s most pressing issues, such as addiction.