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10/02/2019

Welcome Back with a Letter from the Chair

Dear Alumni and Friends:

The Department of Interior Architecture & Design at FSU is well underway for fall semester 2019!  We kicked off the year with a Mass Meeting of Majors and an ice cream social (see photo).  This fall we welcome a new faculty member, Kelley Robinson.  Kelley has been a practicing interior designer with Workshop 131 and currently serves as the president of the Florida North chapter of ASID.  We value her energy and the real-world experience she brings to the program!

Many of our students interned throughout the country this summer and experienced the world of practice. Our internship program, headed by Jim Dawkins, with help from professors Steve Webber and Amy Huber, saw record numbers of students placed with design firms.  Our list of firms is growing and we value the opportunity to place our students in such dynamic locations with excellent mentors.

A number of students joined Jim Dawkins for our London Study Abroad program with students exploring history in one of the world’s greatest countries!

2019 is the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus and the department is celebrating in style the fall with a gallery show and exhibition of student work.  Designed by Dr. Lena McLane, the show features student work from the spring furniture design class taught by Dr. Marlo Ransdell.  As part of the celebration, students and faculty will also enjoy a lecture by Freyja Hartzell of the Bard Graduate Center on October 3.

Our professional advisory council is active and will meet in Tallahassee on November 21 for its fall meeting led by alumna and council chair, Michelle Wiebe.  The department is grateful to the council for the enhanced funding they solicit on our behalf as well as doors that are opened to the department through their efforts.

This year we will hold our third annual career day in February 2020 and we will recognize our distinguished and emerging alumni award winners—the first year of these awards.

Finally, I must say goodbye as I will retire in December of 2019.  Dr. Jill Pable will assume the role of chair.  I know she will be wonderful and carry on the strong tradition of excellence in the department.  For more information, connect with our activities through our Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, or our new Instagram, @fsu_iad.

Take Care

Lisa Waxman, Chair