www.cmu.edu: Carnegie Mellon University today announced that alumnus and emeritus faculty member Joseph Ballay and his wife, Sue, have established The Joseph Ballay Center for Design Fusion in the university's School of Design through a $10 million gift, the single largest ever presented to the College of Fine Arts. The center establishes a formal presence of design expertise and outreach at CMU and also will serve as a central hub for design courses for the CMU campus community, executive education, sponsored projects and collaborations, and design research.
2 comments:
I'm really excited to see this Center take shape. I got the email about it a few days ago, but at first glance it seemed more like a big donation than a fund to create a new center. I know there's been a lot of interest in interdisciplinary design at CMU, so I'm glad they're able to carve out a space to host and support that community. In particular, I know that there's been a lot of increased interest in virtual design recently, such as the HCI program starting to offer a major in Human-Computer Interaction. Plus, I know that a lot of our alumni have gone on specifically to work in UX-UI design, which is an area that really encompasses the spirit of "Design Fusion." I wonder if this center will extend to that kind of more UX-oriented design, or if it's more intended for students already working within CFA. Regardless, though, I could see this space as a great spot to host design events and maker spaces for students.
I'm interested in seeing the finished product of this donation. I wish we had more time to take classes outside of the school of drama because working on ways to take what I learn in school of drama and apply to other sorts of fields would help solidify what I learn here in my mind, I feel. Obviously we are here to learn about working in the live and performing arts industry but I think we could benefit from a more birds eye "
big picture" sort of view to see that our talents and skills can be put to use in many more industries than the one we are being trained to work in. This sort of context I think is crucial considering how many people were left without jobs throughout this pandemic. Being able to suddenly heel face turn into a new job should the need arise is an important feat that we should all consider throughout our education.
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