UIC School of Design Names new Graduate Directors

The School of Design at the University of Illinois Chicago has appointed Felicia Ferrone as Director of Graduate Studies in Industrial Design, and Cheryl Towler Weese as Director of Graduate Studies in Graphic Design.

Felicia Ferrone’s practice is informed by her early experience as an architect in Milan. Fferrone, her namesake design firm, offers glassware, furniture and other objects of design formed with seemingly simple gestures that redefine archetypes of the discipline.

Cheryl Towler Weese, founder of graphic design firm, Studio Blue, creates award-winning communication and environment design for museums, universities, and other cultural institutions. In 2015, Towler Weese worked with UIC Design faculty and students to develop a new identity for the university’s campus.

“We are pleased that two highly regarded designers will be leading and shaping our graduate programs,” said Marcia Lausen, the school’s director. “These latest appointments complete our leadership team: Towler Weese joins Philip Burton, Chair, and Linda Bracamontes, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Graphic Design. Ferrone joins Stephen Melamed, Chair, and Sung Jang, Director of Undergraduate Studies in Industrial Design.”

The UIC School of Design was established in 2014 to foster the ongoing success of the departments of Graphic Design and Industrial Design. The School offers the Master of Design (MDes) and Bachelor of Design (BDes) in both disciplines. The MDes in Graphic Design is delivered in Chicago and in Basel, Switzerland.

UIC Design offers one of the nation’s leading graduate programs—combining critical thinking and disciplinary engagement within the framework of a research university —to contribute to the development of design as a professional pursuit and social force.

The UIC Master in Design balances two purposes of graduate education: developing professional studio-based practice at experimental and formal levels, while stimulating intellectual inquiry about the values guiding the designer.