2023-24 COAS Innovation Lab Grant Awards

Lecture Series and Mentorship Program

Rulon Wood (Theatre, Film and Creative Writing) – The Innovation Lab Grant and the Alan and Royanne Minskoff Foundation have generously funded the Film Lecture Series. These funds are currently used to connect Boise State students to film industry professionals. The lecture series provides an opportunity for the general public to hear about the art and business of filmmaking. The first speaker, Doug Campbell, has written and directed over 50 feature films, presented to students, faculty and the public. And in the coming weeks, Charlese Antoinette, a costume designer who has worked on academy-nominated films will present to the public and students as part of the Boise International Film Festival. The industry connections greatly benefit the students and the public, as we hope to create inroads for future collaborations and internships.

Restructuring the Graphic Design I and II Curriculum

Brian Wiley (Art, Design and Visual Studies) – The COAS Innovation Lab Grant funds a redesign of the Graphic Design Studio 1 and 2 courses. This redesign will create two independent introduction-level graphic design courses focused on project-based curriculum that guides students through research, planning, execution, and reflection. This is opposed to what is the more common scaffolded curriculum found in most graphic design programs, which often leads to bottlenecks and other challenges for students to progress through the program efficiently. These changes will allow for students to take the courses when it is most convenient for them and more easily progress through the program in pursuit of a minor, or in preparation for application to upper-division coursework. We also recognize through preliminary research that the challenges facing our program are not uncommon among other design programs, and that addressing these issues at Boise State has the potential to more broadly affect the way graphic design education is implemented at other institutions.