Creatives 230 named among AACSB “Innovations That Inspire”

Just one year since its launch, Creatives 230, an interdisciplinary experiential learning lab in the Rowan Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (RCIE), was named today among the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business’s 2024 Innovations That Inspire.

It’s the third time that the international accrediting organization has recognized Rowan’s RCIE program in its Innovations That Inspire initiative.

AACSB previously named Studio 231, a maker space for the Rowan community, and Think Like an Entrepreneur Summer Academy among groups of educational Innovations That Inspire.

Born of a collaboration between Jenny Drumgoole, an associate professor in the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, and Jessica Vattima, assistant director of the Rowan Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship within the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIE), the program combines creativity and entrepreneurship, enabling students to collaborate and benefit from experience gained.

Staffed by students from a variety of creative majors, Creatives 230 offers brand, project and portfolio consulting, hosts workshops and speakers, and manages a dedicated student art space, Rowan’s stARTup Gallery, in Business Hall.

“Entrepreneurship isn't just for business majors, it's a mindset that is crucial for artists and creatives in today's competitive landscape. That’s why this space is so important,” Drumgoole said.

Since its launch, students at Creatives 230 have collaborated with a range of businesses and startups, offering services that span from video production to market strategizing, web site creation, ad copy writing and package design.

Client collaborations have included Philadelphia-based TikTok star Tanara Mallory, with an interview produced for Mallory garnering over one million views on TikTok. Additional collaborations have included HALFDAY Tonics, a healthful beverage company founded by RCB alumni; and Bobica Bars, a superfoods granola bar company started by two RCB undergraduates.

“This award for Creatives 230 is proof that when you give creative students the entrepreneurial tools, opportunities and framework, there's no limit to what they can achieve,” Drumgoole said.

Isabella Shainline, a senior education major with a minor in photography, said the program is helping her utilize creative skills that she expects to one day use in her own classroom and, possibly, in business outside of it.

“This experience is giving me another tool to use,” Shainline said.

Creatives 230 has a roster of nine client collaborations for Spring 2024 including the South Jersey Children’s Book Festival; a TV pitch with a Yale MFA candidate; three clients within the RCIE’s Accelerate South Jersey Initiative; and student startup PULLA Tracker, a women’s safety app for which creator Sienna Rampulla, now an MBA fellow, last year won the college’s New Venture Competition and $30,000 in start-up funding.

Said Vattima, “Creatives 230 equips Rowan students with real-world skills and a platform that opens up new ways for collaboration and innovation.”

RCB Interim Dean Morris Kalliny will represent Rowan at the Innovations that Inspire recognition program during the AACSB's 2024 Dean's Conference this month in Barcelona.