Award-winning Students

2009-2010 College of Design Award-winning Students

The College of Design is proud to recognize excellence in academic achievement, research and service. A partial list of recent honors and scholarships appears below.

Send submissions to Michael Fraase, mfraase@umn.edu.

Fulbright Grant Winners

A total of 14 University students have received Fulbright grants for 2009-10 to pursue graduate study, research or creative work in a foreign country. Two of the Fulbright recipients are College of Design undergraduate alumni.

Evan HallEvan Hall (BS Arch '08) will spend the 2009-10 school year studying in South Korea. He will attend the Korea National University and plans to research how the urban environment in Seoul is changing.

"I will conduct interviews with architects, [do] field research including sketches and photography, and culminate my research with a community-based architecture design proposal," he said. Hall plans to give a lecture on his findings at CDes in December 2010.

Hall said, "I cannot thank my studio professors enough for pushing me to my furthest potential at the School of Architecture. Martha McQuade, Ralph Nelson, Andrew Dull, and Ozayr Saloojee were all extremely influential."

Vivian Mui

Vivian Mui (BS Graphic Design '08) will spend the year as a Fulbright English teaching assistant at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

"In addition to teaching, I plan to volunteer for local art, design, and visual communication organizations in Hong Kong to expand my knowledge of cross-cultural graphic design theories and international design concepts," she said.

Aside from being a place to research cross-cultural design, Hong Kong is very meaningful to her.

"My parents both emigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong about 30 years ago, and as an American-born Chinese, I have always been curious about my parents' birthplace and the city in which they grew up," she said.

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Judd Fellowship Winner

Ten graduate and professional degree students were awarded fellowships in 2009 through the Walter H. Judd International Graduate & Professional Fellowships. One of the recipients is from the College of Design.

Jessica McClurgJessica McClurg (MArch, Architecture and Historical Preservation) was one of 10 University graduate and professional degree students to receive a 2009 Walter H. Judd International Graduate and Professional Fellowship. Each year, this highly competitive fellowship awards students up to $2,000 to help offset the cost of travel, living, and academic expenses abroad.

McClurg said she is interested in how tourism can affect a historic site. Her decision to study in Japan was based on a desire to learn more about the culture and preservation techniques.

While studying in Japan, McClurg documented instances of overcrowding at numerous historical sites and noted any physical impact the overcrowding could have on the site.

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College of Design Outstanding Student Award winners

Congratulations to the student recipients of the 2009 College of Design awards:

Elyse Olson (Apparel Design) is this year’s Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award recipient. Elyse was praised by her nominators for the success of the Clothing Design Senior Fashion Show and her ability to organize and motivate a diverse group of individuals. In addition, Elyse maintained a high GPA, participated in a semester study in New York City through Kent State University, and completed two internships.

Ange Tank (Graphic Design) is this year's Outstanding Graduate Student Award Recipient. Ange serves as President of the Graduate Student Organization, helped to form a collaborative design co-op, ABCDes, which focuses on creating things and working in an interdisciplinary manner, and is a graduate instructor. Ange also makes a positive difference in the lives of individuals, community, the college, and design professionals through her volunteer work. In January she traveled to Florida to present her work on an interactive website for Tibetan refugees at the Art & Social Justice Conference

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Undergraduate Dean's List

Each semester, the college publicly recognizes superior undergraduate academic performance.

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College of Design Scholarship and Fellowship Recipients

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Undergraduate Research Symposium Participants

Several College of Design undergraduates participated in the University's 2009 Undergraduate Research Symposium in April.

  • Meghann Coyle (Arch) "Old Eyes on New Buildings"
  • Jennifer Dens (Arch) "Northrop Memorial Auditorium: Historical Symbol of the University"
  • Heidi Erm (Housing Studies) "Aging-in-Place Policies"
  • Laura Houghton (Housing Studies) "Household and Community Response to Annual Flooding in Rural Bolivia"
  • Shing Mei Leung (Arch) "Designing an Urban Landscape"
  • Nora Ronningen (Arch) "Transmaterial: Materials that Redefine Our Physical Environment"

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Metropolitan Design Center Travel Scholarship Recipients

Woody Hanson (Arch) and Austin Lukes (Arch) are the Metropolitan Design Center's 2009 MDC Undergraduate Travel Scholarship winners. Hanson researched division in urban landscapes in Nicosia, Cyprus, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Lukes traveled to Dublin, Ireland; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Lyon, France, to investigate light rail public transportation systems.

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Undergraduate Community Engagement Scholars Program

Andrew SundalAndrew Sundal (BS Arch '09) is the first CDes student to complete the University's Community Engagement Scholars Program. How much engagement are we talking? "I had to complete 400 [community service] hours, six reflections...take eight credits of service-learning classes, take a seminar, and do a final project," he said. Sundal worked with Leslie Van Duzer (Architecture) and the Wilder Foundation on a Center for Healthy Aging Program project.

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CDes Students in the News

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