ONEONTA, N.Y. — Hartwick College has selected Michael Walsh as the new director of the Griffiths Center for Collaboration and Innovation (GCCI). He will begin his appointment in late August. As GCCI director, Walsh will lead and advance a culture of collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the college. He will report directly to President Darren […]
ONEONTA, N.Y. — Hartwick College has selected Michael Walsh as the new director of the Griffiths Center for Collaboration and Innovation (GCCI). He will begin his appointment in late August.
As GCCI director, Walsh will lead and advance a culture of collaboration, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the college. He will report directly to President Darren Reisberg and work with the college’s senior leadership team and others to implement the strategic direction for the center. Walsh will also provide oversight for the college’s Center for Craft Food & Beverage and soon-to-open Grain Innovation Center.
Launched in 2018 with a $1.25 million gift from alumna Sally Griffiths Herbert and Tim Herbert, the GCCI is an idea incubator and an instigator of innovative approaches and creative problem solving, Hartwick contends. The center serves as an umbrella for three innovation stations — the Makerspace, Fabrication Lab, and entrepreneurship hub — where ideas, theory, and practice support entrepreneurial models of though and actions across the curriculum.
Walsh has more than 20 years of experience in leading organization growth and experience in business development and leading strategic initiatives. He joins Hartwick from Clarkson University, where he served in a variety of roles since 2009. Most recently, Walsh was director for industry engagement, where he was responsible for building academic and research partnerships with key partners. Previously, he served a dual role as executive director of both engineering and management for the university’s Beacon Institute at its Beacon campus.
While at Clarkson, Walsh secured $6.3 million in federal, state, and private funding for the development of capital projects at the Beacon Institute. He also increased net tuition revenue through executive education programs, workforce training and development initiatives, and multiple grant-funded programs.
Walsh earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from Clarkson and a doctorate degree from Fordham University in education leadership, administration, and policy. He also participated in multiple executive-education courses from IBM, the Project Management Institute, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education. Walsh is a native of Downingtown, Pennsylvania.