Oct. 5, 2004 issue

After teaching briefly for one year at EMU and spending the next 30-odd years as a professional interior designer and professor, I returned to Eastern in 2001. I feel I'm passing on the baton to younger people.

I have had outstanding students including an interior design graduate student, Chi-Ying Luo. She is currently using her civil engineering background to develop a rehabilitation and feasibility plan for retail and living spaces at Detroit's historic Book and Book Tower building.

People see "Trading Spaces" on television and say, 'What fun!' But what I convey to my students is that people don't realize interior design is a hard profession that involves quite a bit of physical activity.  

Often, a hard hat is more useful than high-heeled slippers. One has to measure, climb and carry everything from heavy boards and models to granite samples. Also, a designer must know architecture, history and construction, building codes and psychology, as well as possessing the ability to design and draw. A good head for business also is essential.

In the upcoming year, I will be redoing the curriculum for the interior design and environmental program. I want to see a stronger crossover between interior design and construction technology. I also want to establish an environmental psychology area that will deal with peoples' perception of space and their behavior in the environment.

Eastern has one of the few programs in interior design that is fully accredited by the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research. That is one of the reasons I came back to Eastern.

 

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