esign and Merchandising faculty and students are recognized for achievement in research, creative scholarship, and grant writing on a broad range of topics that fall within the Department’s mission. To learn more about individual faculty members’ research and creative scholarship see the faculty and staff page.
NEWS
The Department of Design and Merchandising has signed an International Memorandum of Understanding (IMOU) with the National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFT), the premier apparel design institution in India. Projected activities include student and faculty exchanges, study tours, and collaborative research. Mary Littrell, Department Head, and April Mason, Dean of the College of Applied Human Sciences, traveled to New Delhi, India in October to sign the IMOU. The collaboration builds on a year of exploratory activities including exchange of faculty, with Drs. Molly Eckman and Terry Yan traveling to India to teach at NIFT. The first study tour resulting from the collaboration will take students to India in January, 2011, with the trip led by Dr. Ajoy Sarkar and Dr. Dr. Eulanda Sanders.
Drs. Diane Sparks and Juyeon Park received the ITAA Award for Excellence for Draping at the annual international design competition held in Seattle during October 2009.
Dr. Eulanda Sanders and Ms. Carol Engel-Enright were selected among ten finalists in the US judging for the Queen Sirkit Institute of Sericulture Peacock Standard of Thai Silk Competition. The purpose of the competition was to showcase the Thai government's new "Peacock Standard" for Thai silk established by the Queen Sirikit bearing the Royal Peacock logo. Their apparel designs were then sent to Bangkok in June for final judging.
Silk Pantsuit by Dr. Eulanda Sanders
Dr. Sanders received the Second Place Award from the Thailand judging. On August 4, Eulanda received her award from Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Thailand at the ASEAN Collaboration on Sericulture Research and Development Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
Silk Dress by Ms. Carol Engel-Enright
Ms. Hyo Jung (Julie) Chang, (a recent Masters graduate student in the Department of Design & Merchandising), Ruoh–Nan (Terry) Yan, and Molly Eckman were awarded the Consumer Behavior Track-Best Paper award at the 2009 International Textile and Apparel Association conference in Seattle, WA for the paper Impulse Buying Behavior of Apparel: Application of the S-O-R Model and the Moderating Effect of Hedonic Motivation. The paper was based upon Julie’s thesis research, Impulse Buying Behavior of Apparel: Application of the S-O-R Model and the Moderating Effect of Hedonic Motivation.
EVENTS
Woven to Wear: Navajo and Hopi Textiles from The Durango Collection®
September 17 – December 18, 2009
Established forty-five years ago, the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado is the oldest academic center in the nation dedicated to preserving, documenting, and interpreting the Southwest. Representing 800 years of weaving in the southwest, The Durango Collection® forms the cornerstone of the Center of Southwest Studies, chronicling the remarkable achievement of Pueblo, Navajo, and Hispanic weavers.
Woven to Wear: Navajo and Hopi Textiles from The Durango Collection® pays homage to the creativity and skill of Navajo and Hopi weavers. Mantas of the Hopi parallel the introduction of cotton to the Southwest. Navajo textiles reflect the Diné (the Navajo name for “the People”) concept of harmony.
AWARDS
Professor Katharine Leigh has been names as one of DesignIntelligence’s 25 Most Admired Educators for 2009. Honorees exemplify excellence in design education leadership in the disciplines of architecture, interior design, industrial design, and landscape architecture. Honorees were selected by a panel of design professionals from design firms, academic department heads, and students.
Dr. Mary Littrell received the Michael P. Malone International Leadership Award at the Annual Conference of the Commission on International Programs of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. The award is in recognition of “Outstanding Accomplishments in Integrating International Perspectives and Experiences in Learning, Discovery, and Engagement.”
Ms. Leigh Bruggeman, an incoming Interior Design senior, won one of the prestigious Angelo Donghia Foundation Scholarships for the 2009-10 academic year. This is the first time that CSU Interior Design students applied for this scholarship that covers up to $30,000 of their applicable senior year expenses in an interior design program. The Angelo Donghia Foundation, Inc. was established by the late Angelo Donghia, an internationally recognized interior design icon and source of inspiration to the design world. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of a juried competition of portfolio submissions. Each award fully covers the student’s senior year tuition, board, maintenance, books and other requisite student materials.