UMN College of Design

We're of the faculty and students who are part of the upcoming Indigenous Design Camp happening this July! This week-long day camp is designed to ignite the spark of design creativity in Indigenous youth, held between the University of Minnesota and Dunwoody.

Assistant Professor of Architecture, Jessica Garcia Fritz, helped to organize and lead the curriculum of the camp along with Associate Professor of Architecture, Malini Srivastava, and Mariangel Meza (MSARP student). While at the University, students had lunch in the Circle of Indigenous Nations (COIN UMN) and toured our college's fabrication shop with Molly Sanford.

🔗Learn more on the Indigenous Design Camp's page: https://www.facebook.com/people/Indigenous-Design-Camp/61558763708411/

🔗Sign up on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/indigenous-design-camp-2025-tickets-1376863579029?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Repost via Indigenous Design Camp ----

A dedicated group of individuals representing DSGW Architecture, Full Circle Indigenous Planning + Design, Minnesota Architectural Foundation, SALA Architects, Inc., First American Design Studio LLC, Dunwoody College of Technology, and the University of Minnesota College of Design has come together, recognizing the need to bring awareness of design careers to young Indigenous minds within our communities.

These careers, encompassing fields like architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and more, significantly impact our tribal landscapes and everyday lives. Yet, they often remain unseen and unexplored by Indigenous youth. The Indigenous Design Camp aims to bridge this gap by immersing participants in a week of engaging activities.

Join the Minnesota Design Center’s 6th Empowering Small Minnesota Communities Project Webinar, Small Community Flooding Issues. Experts John A. Chapman and Amy Anderson will discuss flooding, flood management, and flood mitigation case studies in small Minnesota communities.

Read more and add this webinar to your calendar, which will take place online on Thursday, June 26, at noon CT.

https://events.tc.umn.edu/event/22720-esmc-webinar-small-community-flooding-issues

Associate Professor Terresa Hardaway (Graphic Design) was featured by MPR News in an article covering the typeface she designed that helped bring awareness and action to Black liberation movements in the Twin Cities. Read to learn about her philosophy and design method behind the typeface, the impact it's had, and how celebs like Common got involved!

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/05/23/stop-killing-black-people-how-a-minneapolis-designer-branded-a-movement

We're so of our faculty for always doing great work and coming together to support each other. Here we have a table of McKnight Land-Grant Professorship honorees! Assistant Professor of Architecture Dingliang Yang has been awarded for 2025-2027, Assistant Professor of Product Design Carlye Lauff was awarded in 2024-2026, and Professor of Product Design Barry Kudrowitz in 2016-2018.

https://scholarswalk.umn.edu/university-awards/mcknight-land-grant-professorship

Our extremely popular Product Design course, Product Innovation Lab (iLab), just held their final presentations, and “It's probably unlike any presentation you've ever done before,” says course instructor and Assistant Professor Carlye Lauff. “It’s basically children's theater meets an Apple product launch.” https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/playful-take-product-innovation

In this University of Minnesota Twin Cities article, read how our course teaches our students technical skills and provides a collaborative experience within team dynamics. See why you won't want to miss next year's final presentations, Playsentations, open to the public and fun for family and friends!

A playful take on product innovation A wildly popular product design course at the University of Minnesota gives students a hands-on learning opportunity that leaves them with real-world experience.

Richard Graves, U of M associate professor of architecture and sustainability expert, is helping design a new youth center in Pelican Rapids—shaped by input from local teens. The project is part of the Empowering Small Minnesota Communities program and aims to reflect the community’s needs. z.umn.edu/age7 UMN College of Design

🎓 The College of Design's 2025 Commencement Ceremony is happening Thursday, May 15 from 3:30 to 5:30 PM in the Northrop Auditorium. A livestream broadcast of the ceremony will be available for folks unable to attend the event.

❓Questions about parking, what to do on the day of the event, or where students should check in for cords, etc? See our FAQ on our Commencement page: https://design.umn.edu/students/college-design-commencement

💻 Watch the live stream starting at 3:30 PM on Thursday: https://z.umn.edu/2025designcommencement

There's so much to celebrate this week! Check out the CDes event calendar and plan ahead to make the most of everything going on in our community. https://events.tc.umn.edu/design/all

𝐓𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟑
☺︎ Interior Design Senior Showcase at the Prevolv Showroom from 4:00 to 6:00 PM

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟒
☺︎ CDes Showcase INDUSTRY NIGHT in Rapson Hall from 5:00 to 8:00 PM (Design professionals are welcome to meet our students and see their senior projects!)

☺︎ ONWARD Graphic Design Showcase in Rapson Hall from 5:00 to 8:00 PM

☺︎ Design Justice BIPOC + Q***r Graduation Recognition Event starting at 6:00 PM

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟓
☺︎ CDes Commencement Ceremony at Northop Auditorium starting at 3:30 PM

☺︎ CDes Showcase Friends & Family Celebration in Rapson Hall at 5:30 PM after the ceremony

Last week, the we proudly honored exceptional students, faculty, and staff during the College of Design 2024–25 Honors & Awards! We gathered to recognize the remarkable contributions these winners have made to enrich our academic community. Award recipients are nominated across multiple categories by their peers, including faculty, students, and staff.

See the full list of winners on our blog: https://design.umn.edu/news/college-design-2024-25-honors-awards

American Academy in Rome honors Associate Professor Karen Lutsky (Landscape Architecture) with the 2025-2026 Rome Prize! Karen will deeply engage with their work in landscape architecture and collaborate with artists and scholars across disciplines during a prestigious fellowship in Italy. The last College of Design faculty member to receive this fellowship within the landscape architecture department was one of the program’s founders, Roger Martin.

Read more about the Rome Prize and the 2025-2026 winners: https://www.aarome.org/news/features/announcing-2025-2026-rome-prize-winners

Learn more about Karen's ongoing projects, publications, teaching, and collaboration at the Great Lakes Design Labs website: https://www.gldl.org/