Supporting Teaching and Creative Practice

The recipient of RISD’s first endowed professorship inspires students through his commitment to professional practice.

The longtime faculty member believes that the creative practices of RISD faculty provide important benefits to students. “Faculty here share their expertise with students without expecting emulation, but they also serve as role models—so being a serious designer, artist or scholar really matters. Professional credibility makes a difference in effective teaching,” says Dunnigan.

Schiller Family Endowed Chair in Furniture Design

As part of his approach to teaching, furniture designer John Dunnigan MFA 80 ID P 22 encourages his students to lead a life driven by critical thinking. “I help guide students to develop certain skills, processes and ways of thinking and to cultivate a personal and collective way of working that is effective for them,” he says.

I was very moved to receive this honor. Considering how many of my colleagues are deserving of this kind of recognition, it was rather humbling to be given this distinction.

In 2016 Dunnigan was selected to receive RISD’s first endowed professorship—the Schiller Family Endowed Chair in Furniture Design—established by RISD trustee Kim Gassett-Schiller P 14 and Philip Schiller P 14. Endowed professorships offer a prestigious distinction for individual faculty members and provide an ongoing source of financial support for both RISD and the holder’s department.