Over the last several years, innovation has taken hold of UC Irvine’s (UCI) campus and resources, and innovation within its educational programs is no exception.

Michael Dennin, Ph.D., vice provost for Teaching and Learning, dean of the Division of Undergraduate Education and Professor of Physics & Astronomy, was recently named the 2020 Innovator of the Year (one of five awardees) during Orange County Business Journal’s annual Innovator of the Year Awards.

“I’m honored to be named one of the 2020 Innovators of the Year, and it’s a privilege to stand alongside these amazing leaders and trailblazers who are at the cutting edge of their respective fields,” said Dennin in a press release. “Most importantly, I’m proud to represent UCI knowing that my work makes a real difference in the lives and success of our students.”

During the awards, Dennin discussed his biggest obstacles while driving innovation within higher education, managing the challenges of COVID-19 on a university campus and three tips to help drive innovation during a pre-recorded interview.

“When I think about innovation and what it really takes, the first one has been a theme for my whole life, which is you have to fail and you have to be willing to fail,” said Dennin. “It really is through our failures that we learn most effectively. Most of us remember the things you got wrong more than the things you got right.”

Dennin has overseen the creation of the Anteater Learning Pavilion, which is the first active learning facility in California, the development of student success initiatives that offer a variety of support programs and services to assist UCI’s diverse student body and supports the establishment of the First-Generation Faculty Initiative at UCI, which is utilized across the UC system. The initiative is a collaborative faculty network and members self-identify as first-generation college students or as advocates of the first-generation student population at UCI.

“Michael is truly a thought leader at UCI,” said Richard Sudek, Ph.D., executive director at UCI Beall Applied Innovation and chief innovation officer at UCI. “The way he thinks about education and enables innovation in teaching is extremely important to students, UCI’s ecosystem and the future of innovators at UCI.”

Watch the full Q&A with Dennin.

Photo courtesy of: UC Irvine Division of Undergraduate Education