Virginia North, a former professor, inteirm department
head and program coordinator at Eastern Michigan University
from 1978-1999, died Oct. 22 in a car accident. A vehicle
on M-14 crossed a median that lacked a guardrail and crashed
into her car. She was 58.
North came to EMU as an assistant professor of interior
design in 1978 and she quickly became program coordinator.
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North |
"She was the core of the interior design program. She
was the program at the time she was there," said Louise
Jones, an EMU emeritus faculty member who succeeded
North as interior design program coordinator.
Deb deLaski-Smith, interim dean of the Graduate School,
said "I
worked with her for 20 years. When we both came to EMU,
there were only three faculty (no adjuncts) teaching in
the interior design program. We worked
through the first accreditation process n the early
1980s and continued on from there.
"The program
grew and a graduate program emerged. She was the program
coordinator for a very long time and was the conduit with
the professional organizations," deLaski-Smith said. "Students
won design competitions on an annual basis under her leadership."
For one year, North served as the interim department
head for the Department of Human Environment and Consumer
Resources. North left EMU in 1999 to become the department
head for the interior architecture program in the School
of Art and Architecture at Lawrence Technological University.
North received her doctorate in architecture at the University
of Michigan and her bachelor's degree in interior design
at Michigan State University.
Before coming to EMU, North was a lecturer in interior
architecture and environmental psychology at Lawrence Institute
of Technology from 1981-1987 and a researcher in The Institute
for Social Research at the University of Michigan from
1984-1985.
North received a number of awards, including the American
Institute of Architects State Honor Award for the
design of the building addition for Pressure Vessel Services;
the Interior Design Educators Council National Juried
Design Award for the design of Liberty State Bank's Waterford
branch; the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)
National Appreciation Award; the ASID Michigan Chapter
Presidential Citation.
She was a member of the ASID, where she served on its
board of directors, and was its professional development
chairperson and publicity chairperson. She was a member
of the Institute of Business Designers, and served on its
board of directors and was its vice president for education
and vice president for communications.
Her hobbies included competitive figure skating, tennis,
martial arts, biking and reading.
North is survived by her husband, Clare; a daughter,
Ashley; a brother, Frank DeGroff; a sister, Marcia North;
and a number of nieces and nephews.
A memorial service took place Oct. 27 at First Congregational
Church of Ann Arbor.
