Emory University has launched The Hatchery, the university’s newest space for student ideation and innovation, drawing on the strengths of Emory’s broad array of academic programs to facilitate meaningful connections at the university and across the innovation landscape in Atlanta and beyond.  

Shannon Clute has been named inaugural director of the center, which officially opens at Emory Point in January.  

Clute, who most recently served as senior director, brand and communications, for Cornell University’s Division of Alumni Affairs and Development, says that The Hatchery will “empower students to engage in creativity, purposeful play and innovation as preparation for engaged, global citizenship that addresses the world’s big challenges.”

Emory faculty and staff will be part of the collective energy, working alongside students, alumni and changemakers from Atlanta and elsewhere. The center facilitates experiences for students that complement and amplify existing innovation and entrepreneurship efforts at the university. 

Custom-built to inspire creativity, The Hatchery is a highly configurable, 15,000-square-foot facility which includescollaboration areas, a makerspace, a presentation and event space, classrooms, online tools, a breakroom and more.

Clute emphasizes that the new innovation space will have a distinct student focus. “The Hatchery is where you can come to test a wild idea, encounter other curious minds, expand your professional network and create solutions to share with the world,” says Clute.  “It’s a place to apply their studies to real-world problems and to succeed beyond Emory.” 

Clute brings relevant experience in academia and industry, having worked at the crossroads of innovation, brand strategy and instructional design to create numerous education-enterprise partnerships and scalable educational initiatives. He previously held several positions with Turner Classic Movies where he built a cross-functional and collaborative culture of innovation to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. 

Before his career in industry, Clute was assistant professor at Saint Mary’s College of California and visiting assistant professor at University of Kentucky, where he taught courses in French and Italian language and literature. Clute holds a BA in Italian from the University of Colorado–Boulder and a MA and PhD in romance studies from Cornell University.