Dr. Julie Mikles-Schluterman can’t help but smile when she stands in the Co-Create Innovation Hub in Russellville and thinks about what the newly-opened Arkansas Tech University ThinkSpace will mean for ATU faculty, ATU students and the surrounding community.
“I envision groups collaborating, creating, being innovative and having fun doing their job,” said Mikles-Schluterman, ATU professor of sociology and director of the ATU Center for Community Engagement and Academic Outreach. “I hope we see some really innovative projects come out of this space…(ATU) students and faculty that develop small businesses…or a product they can commercialize…or they work with a non-profit organization to solve a problem in our community. That’s how I envision this space, but that being said, it really is open to faculty and students as to how they want to make use of this space. I really want them to use this space in the ways that are beneficial to them, and I trust that they will do really cool things.”
The ATU ThinkSpace at the Co-Create Innovation Hub is a collaboration between the ATU Center for Community Engagement and Academic Outreach, the ATU College of Arts and Humanities and the ATU College of Business and Economic Development.
It consists of one dedicated office space rented by Arkansas Tech and all of the amenities provided to members of the Co-Create Innovation Hub, including a large meeting room designed for presentations and gatherings, conference rooms and spaces suited for smaller groups or individuals working on a project.
“We want the space to be a place where faculty and students can interact with one another, but also with community partners such that students and faculty have a face in the community,” said Mikles-Schluterman. “For faculty, they have full access to the designated office space, the conference rooms and they can reserve the think lounge and host events. If they want to meet with students, they can meet the students here and help them swipe in. The students can use the back space as long as they have a faculty member with them. They could have their club meeting here, they could order in pizza, they could do a game night…as long as the faculty member is with them. Students can also access the front area of the innovation hub.”
The ATU ThinkSpace is made possible through Mikles-Schluterman’s participation in a statewide collaborative effort that earned an $8 million National Science Foundation grant for the establishment of the AR-NETWORK (Arkansas Nexus for Excellence in Technology, Workforce, Outreach and Research Knowledge).
According to a news release issued by the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) during summer 2025, AR-NETWORK is “designed to amplify Arkansas’ research capacity, accelerate commercialization and expand STEM career pathways.”
The funding will be distributed over a four-year period.
“My dream is that this will truly be an effective interface with the business community and the community at large that results in us being able to truly help drive new businesses and economic development in the Arkansas River Valley,” said Tracy Cole, dean of the ATU College of Business and Economic Development.
Through Mikles-Schluterman’s involvement in AR-NETWORK, ATU faculty and students will have access to enhanced opportunities for interdisciplinary project-based learning (IPBL) courses, research projects and innovation hub access.
“For me, it’s all about collaboration and dialogue,” said Dr. Jeffrey Cass, dean of the ATU College of Arts and Humanities. “I want Tech students and faculty to talk to each other dialogically in conjunction with the students’ needs for their degrees and their career pathways. I think this is a new way of looking at the relationship between faculty and student. Particularly for arts and humanities, it’s a new way of looking at the work of arts and humanities in conjunction with careers. It’s innovative because I don’t think anyone else is doing that in this state, and I think we’re doing something that is necessary to ensure that our arts and humanities students see the value in their degree. We just need to identify the right career pathway for them, and they need to help us find it.”
ATU faculty members or students seeking more information about the ATU ThinkSpace at the Co-Create Innovation Hub, 215 S. Arkansas Ave. in Russellville, may send e-mail to jmiklesschluterman@atu.edu.
