Diversity in the U.S. Innovation Ecosystem
At the leading edge of transformational changes and one of the most economically diverse universities in the country, University of California, Riverside was an ideal setting for the Southwest Regional Dialogue of the Exploring Innovation Frontiers Initiative (EIFI). On November 18th, Kim Wilcox, Council Member and Chancellor of the University of California, Riverside, hosted a deeply thoughtful conversation of business, academic, government, national laboratory, and non-profit leaders.
The day-long combination of plenary sessions and student interventions—together with keynote remarks from Susan Wessler, Home Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, and Neil A. and Rochelle A. Campbell Presidential Chair for Innovations in Science Education at the University of California, Riverside, and Kim A. Wilcox, Chancellor of the University of California, Riverside, dove into the ways different types of diversity—geographic, socioeconomic, gender, and race—impacted the potential for innovation in America. There is little question that diversity represents unique perspectives that inject new ideas into existing problems, increasing opportunities for innovation and as such it is critical to ensure diversity is represented in America’s innovation ecosystem.
