Jessica Andrews, who helped oversee record growth at the McMillon Innovation Studio, U of A's campus innovation hub, has been named its interim director.  

Andrews, an Arkansas native and U of A graduate, joined the Studio in 2022 and had been serving as the Studio's associate director. During her tenure, the Studio has seen a sharp increase in student engagement — growing from 27 teams in 2021 to 48 teams in 2023 — and recently doubled its footprint to accommodate the rising number of program offerings. 

Phil Shellhammer, executive director of the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which oversees the Studio, said he was excited that Andrews was able to quickly jump into the interim director role. 

"She has been an integral part of the growth the Studio has seen over the past couple of years, and her leadership will allow the Studio to continue providing a strong impact to the hundreds of students that interact with their programming each semester," Shellhammer said. 

Andrews led the launch of the Social Impact Track within the Studio's Design Teams program, formalizing how students work with nonprofits to solve pressing social and environmental issues using human-centered design.  

In the track's inaugural year, the NWA Food Bank Team took first place at Demo Day. Project manager Jack Norris and his team developed a data-centric management dashboard that paired with a user check-in system to improve the food distribution and estimation processes for the food bank's mobile food pantry. 

"Every day, I'm inspired by the creativity, passion, and ambition of our students as they learn new skills to shape their futures," Andrews said. 

"As interim director, I'm excited to continue fostering this spirit of innovation while advancing strategies that will enhance the Studio's impact and further empower our students to thrive both personally and professionally." 

Before joining the Studio, Andrews was chief executive officer of 7hills Homeless Center and an executive director at Startup Junkie Foundation.

Andrews completed her undergraduate work at U of A in 2011, then earned her Master of Business Administration in 2014 from the Sam M. Walton College of Business. She also earned a Master of Public Service that same year from the Clinton School of Public Service.  

Launched in 2016, the studio serves as an innovation hub to U of A students of all majors and works to develop future leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators by cultivating their creative mindset and connecting them to opportunities to make real-world impact.     

Students in the studio are given access to valuable mentorship and resources — providing further support to cultivate their creative skills and empower them to deliver impact innovation through organizational, social and entrepreneurial change. 

Justin Urso, the Studio's director since 2021, has departed to pursue a new opportunity outside the university.

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About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. A unit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and Division of Economic Development, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.