University of Minnesota College of Design


University of Minnesota College of Design is located on both the Saint Paul and Minneapolis campuses of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. The College of Design includes the full range of design disciplines and is home to eight undergraduate majors in the fields of architecture, apparel design, graphic design, interior design, landscape architecture, product design, and retail merchandising. There are 23 graduate degree programs, eight undergraduate minors, nine research centers, and the Goldstein Museum of Design.

Campuses

The College of Design is located on both the Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The programs of apparel design, graphic design, interior design, housing studies, and retail merchandising are located in McNeal Hall on the St. Paul campus. The Goldstein Museum of Design is also located in McNeal Hall. On the Minneapolis campus the College of Design is located in Rapson Hall, where the architecture, landscape architecture, and product design programs are housed, and at 1425 University Ave. where the Center for Sustainable Building Research and two studio spaces are located.

History

In 2006, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities launched a strategic initiative that created the College of Design by uniting the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel from the College of Human Ecology with the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel

The Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel can trace its roots back to 1871 in the University of Minnesota School of Agriculture. Courses were designed to appeal to the growing number of women seeking higher education, which led to the establishment of the Home Economics Department in 1900. Wylle B. McNeal, for whom the St. Paul Campus building is named, became the head of Home Economics in 1923 and would continue to champion the new programs until her retirement in 1950. Harriet and Vetta Goldstein joined the faculty in 1913 and 1915, respectively, and spearheaded the development of the design curriculum.
In the 1970s, a strategic reorganization lead to the creation of the College of Home Economics, which was separated into four departments:
It was during this time of change that a major addition and renovation occurred: three separate buildings were joined together into what is recognized today as McNeal Hall. When the renovation was completed in 1976, the Goldstein Gallery opened and featured exhibits that brought together students, faculty, and the community in a unique extension of the classroom.
In 1983, the Department of Design merged with the Department of Textiles and Clothing, to form DHA. Programs of study included costume design, applied design, housing studies, interior design, retail merchandising, and textiles and clothing. Eventually, the textiles and clothing major was closed. The product design major was added in 2016.

Department of Landscape Architecture

In 1965, the University Regents established the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Degree and hired Roger Martin head the program. Two years later, the first courses for this degree were offered within the School of Architecture. At the time, programs in Landscape Architecture were being offered through both the School of Architecture and through the Department of Horticultural Science in the College of Agriculture. In 1968, a joint administrative agreement was reached which would split both the faculty and the funding for BLA programs between the School of Architecture and the Department of Horticultural Science. The Masters in Landscape Architecture program was first accredited in 1976. During that same year the faculty reevaluated the curriculum to focus on the integration of ‘art’ and ‘ecology’ and later added the theme of ‘community.’ Faculty committed themselves to curricular, research, and outreach activities dedicated to transforming practice to meet the broadening spectrum of issues faced by landscape architects.

School of Architecture

In 1869 the first president of the newly founded University of Minnesota made the study of architecture available within the College of Mechanic Arts, later named the College of Engineering and Architecture, then the Institute of Technology, now the College of Science and Engineering.
By the end of the First World War, the School of Architecture had established a nationally-recognized curriculum in architecture and the relationship between the teaching and practice of architecture became more intense. In 1954, Ralph Rapson, for whom the Minneapolis building is named, was chosen to head the school; following the tenure of his two predecessors, Frederick Mann and Roy Jones. The ultimate goal of the school was to produce graduates who had acquired the fundamental skills and knowledge of architecture and landscape architecture, but who had also learned to question and challenge its limits.
In 1989, the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture officially separated from the Institute of Technology and became the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture under the leadership of Dean Harrison Fraker and, in 1996, followed by Dean Tom Fisher.

Leadership

Carol Strohecker, Dean (2017 - present)

Carol Strohecker is the current dean of the College of Design. Previously, Strohecker was vice provost for academic affairs at the Rhode Island School of Design. Prior to RISD, she was the inaugural director of the University of North Carolina’s multicampus Center for Design Innovation. Strohecker conducted research on learning environment design and technology-enhanced learning at Media Lab Europe and Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs. She holds a Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences and a Master of Science in Visual Studies. Both degrees are from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Becky Yust, Interim Dean (2015 - 2017)

Becky Yust served as interim dean of the College of Design from 2015 to 2017. Yust is a professor of housing studies.

Thomas Fisher, Dean (2006 - 2015)

Tom Fisher served as the inaugural dean of the College of Design, leading the college from its creation in 2006 through 2015. Previously, Fisher spent ten years as dean of the University of Minnesota School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He is now director of the College of Design's Minnesota Design Center and holds the position of Dayton Hudson Land Grant Chair in Urban Design.

Programs