Furman University

Benjamin Riddle has been a University Innovation Fellow at Furman University since April 2014. As a Fellow, Ben works with student leaders across the United States to equip undergraduates with tools and skills needed to compete in the economy of the future. Through his work at Furman University, Ben partners with students, faculty, administrators and alumni to create new initiatives that use design thinking as a tool for engaged learning and creative problem solving. Recently, Ben has represented the Furman and the Fellows at the d.school, the HPI School of Design Thinking, the Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education and at the National Academy of Engineering.

From grassroots groups to global agencies, Ben brings diverse networks together to engage in projects that bridge cultural divides.  In recent years, Ben has worked with Future Partners and Project M to foster sustainable development in the rural South, and has launched 10-4 Good City, a network of social entrepreneurs that share resources, connections and ideas across cities. Ben has also worked with the Institute of Child Success to explore ways that human centered design can be used to improve the health and wellbeing of children and families in the early childhood system. In recent months, Ben was featured in White House Office of Science & Technology blog, Design Good and Fast Company for his efforts to drive place-based change in the Southeast.

Over the course of his academic career, Ben has studied Sustainable Development at Freie Universitat Berlin and Furman University, where he serves as a Duke Scholar and Research Fellow at the Shi Center for Sustainability. Ben is currently active in Greenvile, South Carolina, where he is a project facilitator for Victory Village, a mixed-income community that is built upon service, stewardship and sustainability.