School of Architecture & Design announces interim associate dean of administration


The University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design has announced that Andrea Herstowski, associate professor of design, has been named interim associate dean of administration effective April 19.  

Herstowski joined KU as an assistant professor in 2002 and was promoted to associate professor in 2008. Active in professional organizations, national design school accreditation reviews and university governing committees, she brings a wealth of administrative experience and institutional knowledge. She served as interim chair of the Department of Design from 2012-2014 and chair from 2014-2018. She is currently coordinator of the design department’s visual communication design program and serves as vice president of education for the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) Kansas City chapter.   

A KU Department of Design alumna, Herstowski received a BFA in design in 1990, then completed graduate studies at the Schule für Gestaltung in Basel, Switzerland, in 1995. She has extensive postgraduate training in typography design for print and digital applications and holds a certificate in typography design from The Cooper Union in New York. With recent research, teaching and creative work focused on typography design, Herstowski is currently working with the Google Font team to expand and redraw the National Park Typeface, which was created by students in the design department’s 2018 Design Outside Studio, to be part of the Google Font Library.  

Since 2014, she has worked with the AIGA’s Design For Good, an initiative that creates opportunities for designers, educators and students to work with nonprofits to create positive social impact through design thinking and problem solving. She currently works with Live In Peace, a community organization in East Palo Alto, California. In 2019 she organized an interdisciplinary team of KU students and faculty from both the architecture and design departments to assist Live In Peace in creating branding and interior design for a shop that provides free bicycles to youths in the community.  

As interim associate dean of administration, Herstowski supports the mission of the school by managing academic affairs, including the coordination of general education and transfer requirements, accreditation reports, Board of Regents reviews and development of new degree programs. She will also provide direction for facilities and operations by managing course scheduling and facilities use planning as well as oversight of maintenance, remodeling and construction projects.