Welcome from the Dean

We live in a designed world. From the places we live, to the products we use, to the information we consume – there are few things encountered in our daily lives that were not designed or affected by design.  

We also live in a singular moment in design history. Significant challenges, extending from individual to social to planetary spaces, have upended design. But opportunities for designers to make a difference are virtually everywhere. As designers, we must understand the challenges facing the world and humanity, and must have the skillsets necessary to develop real-world design solutions benefitting both. 

The School of Architecture & Design (ArcD) at the University of Kansas (KU) is dedicated to preparing the next generation of citizen-designers who care deeply about the future of the world and humanity. With design thinking at the core of our educational framework, we promote a culture of academic excellence and diversity where differences are respected, ideas are shared, and people are connected and empowered.  

As a comprehensive design school within one of the 36 public members of the Association of American Universities (AAU), we are committed to educating our students in ways that advance knowledge, create opportunities, and improve people’s lives through engagements with local, state, and global communities. For over a century, KU has prepared students to make an impact as designers, architects, entrepreneurs, and creative leaders. It remains our responsibility here and now to continually work to build upon and enhance this legacy. It is a responsibility we take seriously.  

As in the past, we will continue to use a range of pedagogical approaches that connect education to real-world experience and practice. We remain focused on our mission to educate future designers whose insights and expertise will improve design, and whose innovations in design will foster a more equitable, diverse, healthy, and ecologically sustainable future. 

Dean Mahbub Rashid