The Allegheny Lab for Innovation & Creativity located in the Henderson Campus Center houses a fabrication facility and a computer lab which Assistant Provost of Academic Innovation and Director of Academic Innovation Partnerships Byron Rich oversees. Rich said he wants to utilize the facility to provide students with a more practical approach to their career path.
“The degree at the end is good but we need to also adapt to cultural technological changes,” Rich said. “The reality is most students are going to need jobs.”
ALIC was founded five years ago because Rich said that many different departments — spanning from communications to physics — all had similar technological needs that were not yet being met. So, ALIC was created by the college to provide students the opportunity to develop more technical skills rather than more theoretical skills.
At the same time, Rich decided to start one of the first microcredential programs for liberal arts colleges in the country. He bundled up courses into 3 course streams which by the end, the student would gain a micro credential, assuming they pass all the 3 of the streams. Rich said these microcredentials will make students more marketable and can be highlighted on hiring platforms like Indeed or LinkedIn.

At the same time, Rich decided to start one of the first microcredential programs for liberal arts colleges in the country. He bundled up courses into three-course streams which by the end, the student would gain a micro credential, assuming they pass all three of the streams. Rich said these microcredentials will make students more marketable and can be highlighted on hiring platforms like Indeed or LinkedIn.
Weekly workshops hosted by ALIC also provide an avenue for students to develop skills to help them succeed in the workplace. Located in the ALIC Lab in Doane Hall, the weekly workshops range from sticker-making to digital painting.
Lucy Glassman, ’25, hosts workshops every Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m.
“I think they (students) can learn skills for their own interests,” Glassman said. “Maybe they want to have a side hustle with stickers or if they have other classes to make a presentation for.”
Glassman currently runs three different workshops. The workshops this semester focus on Adobe InDesign, painting and Photoshop and sticker-making.
Glassman’s first sticker session had two student sign ups. She started the first class by giving her students a piece of paper to doodle on. Then, after they were done with their doodles, they took a picture of them and turned them into a sticker.
The second workshop focuses on making zines, a small booklet that needs no staples or tape and is made by just being folded together. Glassman taught students how to use InDesign to format pages.
On Thursday, Oct. 24, hosted a digital painting workshop. She taught students how to use a Wacom tablet to create artwork in Photoshop.
Glassman said every lab is beginner friendly which means students don’t need any experience at all to participate.
No matter participants’ skill levels, Glassman makes sure to create an environment that is engaging and lively.
For future workshops, Glassman’s main objective is to make people more aware of what the ALIC has to offer.
Some students were unaware of the ALIC lab sessions, but believe the ALIC lab is useful.
“The ALIC lab is nice, convenient and it’s open at convenient times,” said Michael Owens, ’28. “If I had known that there was a workshop last week I would have gone. I like how they have them. It helps me learn how to use the materials in ways I would have never known.”
Owens said he uses the lab regularly and has learned a lot of ways to use not just the computers but all the other machines that it has to offer. There are 3D printers, Wacom tablets, laser cutters and more.
Although it is Glassman’s final semester at Allegheny, she is excited that the ALIC lab in Doane Hall is being moved to Reis Hall. Currently renovations are being made to prepare Reis Hall and scale up the ALIC lab.
The new ALIC lab in Reis Hall will house material science research, design labs, fabrication facilities, robotic facilities and AI facilities, according to Rich. There will also be brand new study spots in the building.
“It will be a great place,” Rich said, “for students to hang out and do homework.