There are varying types of students who will be drawn to the new Petrick Idea Center as it opens on Illinois Wesleyan's campus this fall, as described by new director Ben Hage.
One is a problem seeker, who is trying to make a discovery they can offer to the world.
Another is a solution seeker — those who know a specific problem, and are trying to solve it.
Third are students with diverse talents and skills, who will be drawn to this environment of seekers and want to be part of something new. Hage describes the latter as cofounders.
These students will converge and meet at Petrick.
Still more students may be inspired by the unique spaces in Petrick as opportunities for public displays and presentations — venues to demonstrate their talents.
"I want to help people imagine how to use the space," Hage said, noting that faculty will be the real drivers in attracting students to the new innovation hub. "The power of our ecosystem includes all our faculty and students.
"There are specific activities faculty can find useful at Petrick that they can't do to the same level at other buildings."
This is clearly true for Byron S. Tucci Professor of Spanish Carolyn Nadeau, who will be using the food laboratory in Petrick as she innovates curriculum for her new course for nutrition majors on Food, Culture and Society. Previously, opportunities for experimentation and a sensorial, hands-on component in her classes exploring food cultures were severely limited, but the space in Petrick has opened up a literal world of possibilities for Nadeau and her students.
And partly because she'll be situated at Petrick already, Nadeau's preceding language class will meet in Petrick, where she plans to make the most of the various spaces to help students expand their vocabulary by interacting with the environment, including crafting language-based games in the maker-space.
"I'm excited to experiment with that and give them something tangible to help make the learning stick," she said.
Hage was working to make connections on campus and help envision uses for the new facility even before he arrived at Illinois Wesleyan on June 1, as Petrick construction was nearing completion.
Hage was previously director of Innovate Springfield at the University of Illinois Springfield, with more than a decade of experience spanning both startup development and entrepreneurship education.
"I am thrilled to be joining Illinois Wesleyan," Hage said as his appointment was announced. "It is an incredible opportunity to lean into a community where the Midwestern ethos meets the high-level critical thinking of a top-tier liberal arts university. When I visited campus, I felt a contagious energy that makes IWU the ideal place for students who want to bridge the gap between a strong liberal arts tradition and entrepreneurship."
Hage's vision echoes that of foundational donor, the late David Petrick '67, who told architects "The most important thing is to make sure students from all disciplines are involved and feel welcome here. If they have an idea, they can create it at The Petrick Idea Center.”
Recognizing problems, seeking solutions and having new ideas is not exclusive to those studying business. Hage said, "Business is not a pretext," noting innovators acquire necessary business knowledge through the activity of creating and finding ways of delivering value.
Donor and serial entrepreneur Marc Talluto '94 has made a top priority out of supporting entrepreneurial endeavors for students at Illinois Wesleyan — as he said in his 2025 Commencement address — so "every major could understand what it would mean to make their passion their career."
The nearly 15,000-square-foot Petrick Idea Center adjoins the Ames School of Art & Design, which was renovated to connect to the new facility. Provost John Miles said the center is designed to actively bring together students, whose grounding in the liberal arts will provide a springboard for creative problem solving and innovative thinking, and to serve the surrounding community.
Illinois Wesleyan can be a thought leader in the realm of idea centers: Hage sees opportunities to host regional high school entrepreneurship competitions, where IWU faculty and students can add value by sharing their expertise and personal experiences. The University can also host events and seminars, offering knowledge, resources, connections and networking for local teachers and entrepreneurs.
As home to the Illinois Small Business Development Center of McLean County, the IWU campus is ideally positioned as a community hub supporting innovation and new businesses.
And "we have what other local places don't yet have: an alumni network, which can help connect them with investors," Hage noted.
The timing for the Petrick Idea Center coming to fruition also carries advantages, benefiting from the trial and error evidenced at similar types of hubs during the past 15 years. IWU can move directly and quickly to the best practices that have emerged, Hage said.
"I think Illinois Wesleyan is at a place and time where we have tremendous opportunity to do something very meaningful in the idea space," he said.
"Wesleyan is uniquely qualified for many reasons — the quality of our students, the quality of our faculty, and the willingness and engagement of our alumni network, leadership and Board in wanting something like this to be here on campus. We have all the ingredients: talent, experts and support."