Arthur Harkins Associate professor, Dept. of Educational Policy and Administration Adjunct professor, Department of Sociology Faculty director, graduate certificate in innovation studies 310J Wulling Hall harki001@umn.edu Phone: 612-743-7528 Fax: 612-624-3377 Mailing address: Dept. of Educational Policy and Administration 330 Wulling Hall University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455-0221

I am particularly interested in the relationship among three things: technology, education, and the workforce. I arrived at this point after a fairly unusual background that includes working on high-tech military projects as an 18-year-old, obtaining a doctorate in sociology with a strong emphasis in cultural anthropology, and pursuing a long-standing interest in futures studies.

One of the projects I have been involved with is StoryTech, a controlled imagination process I invented while studying the Shinto religion. The technique, which has proved to be an effective tool for teaching, research and consulting, involves story telling using alterable variables. A cross-college project I am involved with is the development of a new graduate certificate in innovation studies. The certificate, one of the first of its kind in the nation, will help the University prepare “innovation workers.” Somewhat related is my work in the area of “distributed competence,” which involves preparing for an experiential education future in which students will have the capacity to instantaneously perform new functions with the help of continuous software downloads. I believe the coming shift away from the language of education to the language of innovation will revolutionize human capital development, in the sense that different skills will be needed to function effectively as a student, teacher or administrator. Finally, a project that represents the other side of the coin is my research into “self innovation.” How does one deal proactively with a fast-moving, continuously innovating environment?

I enjoy working with both undergraduates and graduates within a seminar format. I am delighted to teach two core doctoral courses on knowledge systems and complex adaptive systems in EdPA’s comparative and international development graduate program. Our department chair has been very supportive of innovative ideas and projects, and I look forward to more of these “alpha” developments during the coming years.

Selected publications

Harkins, A., Moravec, J. and Kubik, G. (2006). Facilitating 21st century education: Leapfrogging culture and time through simulational learning. /Global Leapfrog Education,/ Vol. 1, No. 1. http://www.leapfroginstitute.org/journal

Harkins, A., & Kubik, G. (2006). StoryTech: A personalized guidebook to the 21st century. http://www.educationfutures.com/storytech ISBN 0-9787434-0-7

Harkins, A. and Kubik, G. (2006). Leapfrogging toward the "singularity:" Innovative knowledge production on market-driven campuses. On The Horizon, Vol. 14 No. 3, 2006, pp. 99-107.

Harkins, A, Vitaskova, A., and Mollberg, L.B. (2005). "Strategies for innovation in tertiary education: Producing mode III knowledge & personal capital." Theory of Science, XIV/XXVII, 1/2005, 69-88.

Harkins, A.(2003). Re-missioning higher education for knowledge and innovation: Supporting the leadership roles of all individuals. Theory of Science, XII (XXV) 3, 45-58.

Harkins, A. (Spring 2003). In Their Dreams: Paradigm Alternatives and the Marketing of Responsive Educational Services. On The Horizon, 11, 1.

Harkins, A. (Winter 2003). The Futures of Career And Technical Education in a Continuous Innovation Society. Journal of Vocational Education Research, 27(1).

Harkins, A., & Kubik, G. (January 2003). Overcoming the Innovation Divide: Learning for Continuous Innovation, On The Horizon, 10, 1.

Harkins, A., & Kubik, G. (November 2002). After Competency: Performance Base Innovation, On The Horizon, 9, 6.

Harkins, A., & Kubik, G. (2002). Legacy-Based Thinking II: Resisting New Tools and Competencies, On The Horizon, 9, 5.

Harkins, A., & Kubik, G. (2002). The Costs of Legacy-Based Thinking: Retro-Preparation for the Industrial Age, On The Horizon, 9, 4.

Harkins, A. (1998). Global academies as strategic self-organizing think tanks. Josef A. Mestenhauser and Brenda J. Ellingboe (eds.). Reforming the higher education curriculum: Internationalizing the campus. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

Harkins, A. M. & Emmett, J. D. (1997). StoryTech: Exploring the use of a narrative technique for training career counselors. Counselor Education and Supervision, 37(1), 60-73.