II “Two” Luscri has been appointed managing director of the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship and assistant vice provost for innovation and entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis, effective June 1, according to Provost Holden Thorp. Luscri succeeds Emre Toker, who left the Skandalaris Center last year.
“We are fortunate to be able to welcome II back to St. Louis to lead the Skandalaris Center,” Thorp said. “He brings the right mix of experience and creative energy to the position that will no doubt spark ideas and innovation in our community.
“I’m grateful to Ralph Quatrano for his service as interim director and to the search committee for helping us to identify and recruit the very best person for the job. With II on board, the Skandalaris Center will be poised to support and inspire our next wave of entrepreneurs.”
Luscri returns to Washington University from Villanova University, where he serves as executive director of the Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Institute and assistant vice provost for centers and institutes. Prior to joining Villanova in 2011, he spent four academic years at the Skandalaris Center, developing and leading curricular and co-curricular initiatives to promote entrepreneurship at the university.
In his current roles, he oversees the development and implementation of Villanova’s ICE strategy in addition to promoting the collaborative work of college-based centers and universitywide institutes. Working with students, faculty, staff and alumni in each of the university’s academic areas, he is responsible for fostering multidisciplinary learning and embedding entrepreneurial thinking more deeply in the Villanova culture.
Programs established at Villanova under Luscri’s leadership include a series of academic immersion experiences, along with “Pitch Day,” an amalgamation of multiple entrepreneurial programs open to all Villanova students; and the “ICE Challenge,” an early-stage idea generation platform for first-year students. He designed the university’s Idea Accelerator venue, which opened in 2015, and is a founding member of the Villanova Entrepreneurs Capital Club, which marshals resources and funding for Villanova-related startups. He also works with faculty on the commercialization of university-owned intellectual property.
Luscri is a PhD candidate at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and earned his master’s degree in public administration from Saint Louis University. He is a graduate of Webster University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and in mathematics.
The Skandalaris Center is a universitywide entrepreneurship initiative that serves Washington University faculty, staff, students and alumni. The center aims to inspire and develop creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship across disciplines and backgrounds and to be the place on campus where creative minds connect. It serves as the campus hub of entrepreneurial activity, offering opportunities to get connected, trained and funded.
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