PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN
Meg Armstrong has been named chair of design and management at Parsons School of Design. Prior to being named chair, she was associate chair and a full-time faculty member in the department. She holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. from the University of Chicago’s Divinity School, an M.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Shimer College in Waukegan, Illinois.
Andrew Gessner joins the University as library director at Parsons School of Design’s Gimbel Library. Prior to his appointment at Parsons, he was a curator of the visual resources collection in the department of art history and archaeology at Columbia University. He holds an M.L.S. degree from Queens College of the City University of New York, an M.A. from the Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy (now the Milano Graduate School) and a B.A. from Columbia College.
Sarah Lawrence was appointed director of the history of decorative arts program at Parsons. She has taught in the master’s program in the history of decorative arts since 1999 and was appointed to the position of acting chair in 2001. Previously, she was a Mellon curatorial fellow in Judaica at The Jewish Museum in New York City. She has published widely on portrait medals, small metalwork sculpture and the furnishings of the studiolo in Renaissance Italy. Ms. Lawrence received her B.A. from Swarthmore College and her Ph.D. from Columbia University.
Colleen Macklin was named chair of digital design at Parsons. Prior to becoming chair, she was associate chair of the department and was a leader in building the M.F.A. in digital design from the ground up. She has a varied history with Parsons; it includes teaching experience, leadership of an overseas program in Malaysia, engagement with special projects and academic administration. She received her B.F.A., cum laude, from the Pratt Institute.
Carol Moore has joined Parsons in the newly created position of director of the Parsons Design Lab. As both an employee and executive consultant for IBM for two decades, she led a number of high-level projects and initiatives for that company. As an Internet event pioneer, Ms. Moore produced the groundbreaking sites that captured the chess matches of Kasparov vs. Deep Blue in 1996 and 1997. She also has written for
Money magazine,
Time and
New York, among other publications.
Raoul Rickenberg has been appointed a full-time faculty member in the design and
management department at Parsons. He is the founder of MAPstudios, a firm that creates digital and material interfaces for people, products and places. Previously, he was director of experience design at SRI International and creative director at Vivid Studios/Modem Media. He holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Stanford University and a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Roger Shepherd has been appointed a full-time faculty member in the critical studies program at Parsons. He began teaching fine arts at Parsons in 1970, and was later named chair of the department. He is a practicing artist with an impressive record of exhibitions, and also is a successful designer and writer. His latest books include
Structures of Our Time: 31 Buildings That Changed Modern Life, and Reflections of Our Time: The Skyscraper in Architectural Record. His B.F.A. is from The Cooper Union.
Carlos Teixeira joins Parsons as a full-time faculty member in design and management. His background covers graphic design, art history and design theory, as well as the social sciences and philosophy. His current research focuses on methods and processes that help designers and strategic planners understand and manage the complexity of creating useful products in the context of business organizations and market economics. His Ph.D. is from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Sven Travis has been appointed a full-time faculty member in digital design. He began teaching at Parsons in 1988, and has served as director of the Parsons Center for New Design and as associate provost for technology research and development. Mr. Travis holds an M.S. in computer sciences from Polytechnic University, a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
