JOSE LOPEZ
Candidate, B.F.A. Illustration, 2003

Jose works with faculty member Michael Josefowicz to create specially illustrated and designed cards that help hospitalized children understand the medical procedures they are to experience. "Jose's project exemplifies the Illustration Department's mission and philosophy. As an illustrator/designer he and his team are entering the work force prepared to be influential pictorial communicators, designers, and problem solvers," says Barbara Nessim, Chair of Parsons' Illustration Department. "The ‘pup cards' creativity in concept, design and problem solving are extremely relevant because of the social and cultural concerns it helps resolve for the patients."

One of the reasons that New School University is unique to Jose is the diversity of the student population. "Each of us comes here in search of an education and an answer to the question about the role we will play in this world once we have that education." He has found that the faculty is a key factor in helping students find the answer. That the University faculty members are professionals in their fields as well as instructors was an important distinction for him in choosing his program at Parsons School of Design. Other attractions were Parsons' hands-on teaching format and the availability of instructors to students to advise and guide them in their work and, ultimately, help them in reaching their goals.

SHASHI CAAN
Director, Interior Design B.F.A. Program

Bridging professional practice and academia, Shashi Caan is a multi-talented designer who strives for design excellence. Dean H. Randolph Swearer remarks that she is "a designer of extraordinary talent." Working with faculty drawn from the New York City professional communities of architecture, interior design and lighting design, Professor Caan is poised to lead the department in "developing an unprecedented interdisciplinary design education among schools of architecture."

"The most rewarding aspect of working at Parsons is that the quality of the education is exemplary. It is evident that no one is complacent here, and we have a tremendous energy on our urban campus. I experience a constant process of brainstorming, with a vetting of groundbreaking new initiatives that focus on adapting to change, not simply in a reactive sense but to ensure that we are out there leading that change." Professor Caan states that the University's programs are actively concerned with the leadership of tomorrow, helping students learn the process of critical thinking that prepares them to continuously analyze, critique and reinvent themselves and their work.

"For the education of design, in my opinion, there is no locale that can rival New York. Design firms here are superb and the teaching talent is simply unparalleled. Opportunities for exchange expose the student designer to sophisticated design ideas and issues needing thoughtful answers." In addition, "Parsons' connection to New School University provides it with a rich and vital liberal arts backbone unparalleled among top-tier, stand-alone design schools."