LETTER FROM THE DEAN

Dear Alumni and Friends of the College of Design,

For the first time since January 2020, we are excited to be back in your mailbox with our college magazine. During this COVID-initiated pause, we spent time rethinking how best to connect you with the college and share the amazing work of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The magazine’s new title and updated look reflect that we are no longer emerging as a college, as we were more than 15 years ago. We are steadily evolving as a full-fledged College of Design.

While we are no longer a new college, we are still undergoing changes, as all organizations must to adapt and thrive. These changes include the introduction of our Design Justice Initiative (page 2) and our Kusske Design Initiative (page 5), as well as the organizational restructuring currently underway for transitioning our college to a two-department administrative structure (page 2).

Another significant change is my recent announcement that I will be entering phased retirement and stepping down from my role as the College of Design’s dean. I will remain in my current position until a new dean is appointed. When the new dean is in place, I will transition to a role focused on sustaining and developing the Kusske Design Initiative (KDI).

There is much more we can do through KDI to advance dialogue across the design disciplines and beyond. This holistic, collaborative approach is already transforming our students’ education through focuses such as biophilic design and methods for promoting circular economy. In the coming months and years, you’ll be seeing exciting outcomes and potentials for societal and environmental benefits from this promising initiative.

The University will soon launch a broad-reaching search for the College of Design’s next dean in partnership with a national search firm. The new dean will continue to further our teaching and academic programs, research and creative scholarship, community engagement, collaboration, and innovation.

Please stay tuned for more updates from the college and University as the search for the new dean progresses. In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy this magazine’s new design and the opportunity to reconnect with us and the work of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Sincerely,

Carol Strohecker, Ph.D.