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News Release

Last modified: Tuesday, February 20, 2007

IU Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design appoints design studies adjunct faculty

Appointments herald stronger connections with School of Fine Arts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 20, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University's Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design (AMID) announced the appointment of four faculty members from the Indiana University Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts as adjunct faculty in the department's design studies program.

"We are very pleased these distinguished School of Fine Arts faculty members accepted the invitation to support our department's design studies program," says C. Thomas Mitchell, chair of the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design and director of its interior design program. "Their teaching and professional accomplishments will support our department's ambitious objectives to expand the design studies curriculum into new, multidisciplinary academic programs."

Mitchell notes these adjunct appointments are among the first steps in creating stronger ties within the Bloomington campus' design disciplines.

"Indiana University is home to world-class design programs and educators encompassing a range of academic disciplines," Mitchell says. "Through collaborative inter-departmental partnerships like this, we aim to harness this design expertise, link our commonalities and establish connections that create new educational opportunities for students.

"We also hope this partnership with the School of Fine Arts can build upon the increasing penetration of digital presentation technologies across design disciplines to create greater linkages in how designers interact and work together."

The new adjunct faculty members are:

• Paul Brown, an associate professor, chair of studio art and interim director of the School of Fine Arts, who teaches undergraduate and graduate graphic design courses.
• James Reidhaar, an associate professor on the graphic design faculty in the School of Fine Arts.
• Rowland Ricketts III, a visiting assistant professor of textiles in the School of Fine Arts.
• Jenny El-Sharmy, a lecturer in the School of Fine Arts who teaches courses in graphic design and fundamental studio, and directs the graphic design undergraduate internship program.

Indiana University's Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design (www.indiana.edu/~amid) is a multidisciplinary academic environment within the university's College of Arts and Sciences. AMID helps motivated students shape their futures in retail and design fields. The department's educational programs offer a blend of academic theory combined with practical knowledge and skill-building techniques to encourage critical, independent thinking by students. The programs prepare graduates to be leaders in their chosen fields. Located in Memorial Hall on the IUB campus, AMID enrolled more than 450 undergraduate majors in the fall 2006 semester.

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