Fall Semester is Just Around the Corner: Time to Shine (and Design)!

Greetings from the Department, and we hope everyone is healthy and finding ways to enjoy and relax during what is surely a most unusual summer. The IA&D faculty and staff have been hard at work planning for Fall semester classes and these times have prompted some particularly deep thought about how our community of learning can best proceed in an effective and safe way. With that in mind, careful consideration has been given to those courses that will be taught remotely and those taught in-person, offered in a fashion that complies with FSU health and safety requirements. This means that Department classrooms will look different from when everybody left them in the spring. Major changes will include furniture relocated to comply with social distancing requirements, plexiglass screens at Ms. Deb’s desk as well as in classrooms for faculty-student conversations, and signage posted about necessary health practices.

This is a time of national and local concern for health, to be sure. However, it is also a moment that offers a vivid and up-close look at how the built environment matters and deeply affects our daily lives—which validates how important thoughtful interior design is to health and wellness. As designers, we will have the unique opportunity to live this experience ourselves during the upcoming semesters and to learn from it. We look forward to seeing you in the fall, face masks and all!