Yelena McLane appointed to Inaugural College Arts Association Committee on Design

Yelena McLane, a specialized faculty member in the Department of Interior Architecture & Design, has been appointed to the inaugural Committee on Design within the College Arts Association (CAA), an advocacy organization for professionals committed to the practice, teaching, and researching of art, design, and the humanities. The group will promote and advance issues in design practice, research, and education through “advocacy, engagement, and a commitment to the diversity of practices and practitioners.”

Dr. McLane is an interior design educator with over twelve years of professional practice experience in museum and exhibition design. As she noted in recent proceedings that lead to the establishment of the Committee on Design, “The development of this Committee represents an excellent opportunity to foster interdisciplinary dialogue between academic and design professional practice areas. Design educators have struggled to bridge the gap between the disciplines of design history and theory and design practice. Too often, design educators – whose natural habitats are the studio or workshop – shy away from history and theory. I am confident that this timidity can be overcome by the creation of a Committee that welcomes initiates as well as seasoned academics. Benefits will undoubtedly attach to the more theory-minded scholars from the introduction of practice-based pedagogical and problem-solving strategies typical to design curricula.”