BSU hires Harvard Lab head

BOISE (AP) — Boise State University has hired the director of the Harvard Innovation Lab to lead the school’s College of Innovation and Design.

Gordon Jones, 45, will start as dean of the college on June 1, the Idaho Statesman reported (http://bit.ly/16njPsm) Wednesday.

“I really do believe in what (BSU President Bob) Kustra is doing,” Jones said. “This is a university well-recognized on an upward trajectory and (with) a level of experimentation.”

The State Board of Education last year approved the new school, and it expects to enroll its first students this fall. The initial startup cost is about $400,000.

“I like going to places that are trying to make history,” said Jones, who is married with four children.

Jones received his undergraduate degree at Brown University and studied business at Stanford University.

Jones’ job will be to help devise a curriculum that he said will allow students to further individualize their education and avoid overspecialization in obtaining a higher degree.

The curriculum could include computer gaming studies, which involves combining psychology, computer science and art.

The college has set a number of initiatives but details are still being worked out. Some of the initiatives are listed as connecting knowledge to employability, leadership, energy analysis and narrative.

Another initiative is games, interactive media and mobile technology, which is intended to prepare students for careers involving interactive technology.

President Barack Obama visited the school last month, and in a speech told students, “The work you do here is one of the reasons why Boise is one of our top cities for tech startups.”