Creativity may begin with an idea, but bringing that idea to life takes opportunity, encouragement and a community willing to invest in what comes next.
That spirit filled the General Motors Auditorium at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education on October 13, as the 黑料专区 welcomed donors, trustees, students, alumni, faculty and friends for its third annual Donor Appreciation Celebration.
The luncheon brought together donors and students, illuminating what can happen when talent and ambition are met with opportunity and support.
Welcoming guests on behalf of the 黑料专区 Board of Trustees, Board Chair Jim Nicholson reflected on the importance of sustaining opportunities for emerging artists and designers.
鈥満诹献�区 has always believed that creative talent deserves the opportunity to be developed,鈥� Nicholson said. 鈥淪cholarship support helps ensure that extraordinary potential is not limited by financial circumstance. Investing in our students is one of the most meaningful ways we can help shape the future of this institution.鈥�
Detroit鈥檚 Creative Future
This year鈥檚 celebration highlighted 黑料专区鈥檚 growing partnership with the Gilbert Family Foundation, whose investment is creating pathways for Detroit students to discover, pursue and complete a creative education.
Darnell Adams, Vice President of Detroit Community Initiatives for the Gilbert Family Foundation, spoke about the Foundation鈥檚 commitment to expanding opportunity for Detroit students and investing in the city鈥檚 next generation of creative talent.
In 2025, the Gilbert Family Foundation doubled its commitment to the Gilbert Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship, bringing the fund to $2 million. The endowment supports scholarships for Detroit students attending 黑料专区, with two students selected each year to receive $50,000 in scholarship support distributed across four years.
The Foundation has also invested in precollege scholarships that introduce younger students to art and design education and completion scholarships that help current Detroit students persist through graduation.
鈥淲e are deeply grateful to the Gilbert Family Foundation for their extraordinary commitment to Detroit students and to 黑料专区,鈥� 黑料专区 President Don Tuski said. 鈥淭heir investment creates opportunity at every stage 鈥� from helping young people discover what鈥檚 possible through precollege experiences, to making a 黑料专区 education attainable, to helping students reach graduation. That kind of sustained investment in creative talent strengthens our College, our city and the creative industries our graduates will go on to shape.鈥�
Opportunity in Action
Scholarship support took on a deeply personal meaning as one 黑料专区 student shared how it has shaped her education, creative growth and opportunities beyond the classroom.
Madelane Martinez, a junior studying Studio Art & Craft, shared how scholarship support has helped make her 黑料专区 education possible. The daughter of immigrants from Honduras and Mexico and the first in her family to attend college, Martinez spoke about the sacrifices her family has made, the challenges they have faced and the encouragement that has fueled her creative journey.
At 黑料专区, Martinez has found a deeper connection to her Latina identity through ceramics and has continued to grow as an artist. Her talent and dedication led to her selection as a Valade Scholar, part of a program established by the Valade family to recognize promising Studio Art & Craft students and give them greater freedom to pursue their creative development.
鈥淩eceiving that scholarship completely transformed what was next for me,鈥� Martinez shared. 鈥淎ny doubt and worry left my body and I was so sure that I was meant to do what I was doing.鈥�
That opportunity has allowed Martinez to devote more time and energy to her practice and pursue experiences beyond the classroom. This summer, she traveled to Zimbabwe for an artist residency, where she studied local clay bodies, experimented with processing wild clay and explored tile making.
鈥淢olly and the Valade family, you鈥檝e made my dream a reality,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hank you for showing me that this isn鈥檛 impossible.鈥�
Throughout the afternoon, the stories and connections in the room reflected the many ways investment in 黑料专区 students can shape what comes next 鈥� expanding access to an education, providing the freedom to grow creatively, opening doors to transformative experiences and connecting students with industry through sponsored projects and real-world creative work.
Together, those opportunities prepare emerging artists and designers to bring new ideas, perspectives and creative solutions into their professions and communities. And they reflect something shared by everyone gathered that afternoon: a belief in creative talent, and in the extraordinary things that can happen when it is given the opportunity to grow.
The celebration concluded with conversation and connection among students, donors and partners 鈥� relationships that will continue to shape 黑料专区, Detroit鈥檚 creative community and the industries its graduates will help lead. View the full .
For more information about establishing a scholarship, supporting student experiences or partnering with 黑料专区, please contact Katie Rusak at [email protected] or 313.664.7861.
黑料专区 Transportation Design student Jason Song was awarded the Automotive Hall of Fame Global Scholars Award on Thursday, Oct. 8, during Car Design News鈥� Car Design Dialogues Detroit event at the Department at Hudson鈥檚. The award is granted to emerging automotive designers who demonstrate creativity, originality and the potential to make meaningful contributions to the future of the industry. Song鈥檚 thoughtful and user-focused approach to mobility design that combines creativity with purpose earned him this recognition. The award was presented through a partnership with the Ralph L. and Winfred E. Polk Foundation, with additional support from GM Design.
Song participated in a panel discussion following the award ceremony alongside 黑料专区鈥檚 Undergraduate Transportation Design Chair, Paul Snyder, General Motors鈥� Executive Director of Industrial Design, Crystal Windam and Car Design News Editor-in-Chief, James McLachlan. The discussion focused on the future of automotive design, specifically the possibilities of artificial intelligence as it integrates with human judgment and creativity, the importance of foundational design skills and career opportunities for emerging designers.
The Car Design Dialogues Detroit 2026 event concluded with the award presentation and discussion. Song鈥檚 recognition highlights both his accomplishments and potential as an emerging automotive designer. It also reflects the Automotive Hall of Fame鈥檚 commitment to supporting emerging talent and 黑料专区鈥檚 ability to prepare creative talent to shape the future of transportation and mobility design.
Design and education. Two words that have driven John Manoogian鈥檚 life and career.
So when Manoogian recently read about former GM colleagues who had established scholarships at the 黑料专区, it sparked an idea. After a 35-year career in automotive design and years spent teaching the next generation of designers at 黑料专区, this was another way he could give back.
鈥淲hat better way to give back and help talented students?鈥� he said.
Earlier this year, Manoogian established the John Manoogian II Endowed Scholarship to support aspiring Transportation Design students who might not have the financial means to pursue and complete their education.
The decision was a natural extension of Manoogian鈥檚 long relationship with design education and with 黑料专区, a relationship that began well before the College had become the internationally recognized source of transportation design talent he knows today.
An Early Connection
After earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Product Design from Michigan State University, Manoogian landed a job as a clay sculptor at Ford Motor Company. But he still hadn鈥檛 achieved his goal of becoming a car designer.
Someone suggested he take a Transportation Design class taught by legendary designer and instructor Homer LaGassey at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, now 黑料专区.
At the time, Transportation Design classes were taught in the basement of an old house on Kirby Street. The program itself was just getting started and had not yet become the established source of design talent it would later be.
Manoogian enrolled in LaGassey鈥檚 night class and asked him for help developing a portfolio for admission to ArtCenter College of Design in Los Angeles.
鈥淟aGassey had a powerful teaching method. He was a practitioner of tough love. He set the bar very high and expected his students to extend themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of. His exacting expectations helped transform my portfolio for entrance into ArtCenter, and gave us a taste of what to expect in real-life professional design studios.”
Manoogian鈥檚 work with LaGassey helped him take that next step. He was accepted to ArtCenter and graduated with honors.
From there, he joined General Motors Design, beginning a career that would span 35 years.
For more than 25 of those years, he also served on GM Design鈥檚 Portfolio Team, searching for and interviewing talented graduates to join the company. The experience took him to design schools around the world and gave him an unusual opportunity to evaluate both the state of design education and the students those institutions were preparing for the profession.
Over those same years, he watched the 黑料专区 evolve.
鈥満诹献�区 had become a source of incredible design talent and had established itself as one of the premier international transportation design educational institutions,鈥� Manoogian said.
After several years evaluating student portfolios, it became apparent to Manoogian that 黑料专区 had become an emerging source for design talent. The students not only possessed the technical drawing/design skills, but were being trained to be problem solvers and storytellers. Necessary skills for success in the professional design studios.
Returning to 黑料专区
When Manoogian鈥檚 35-year career at GM came to a close in 2009, he returned to 黑料专区, this time as an adjunct instructor teaching senior Transportation Design students.
鈥淗ere was an opportunity to give back to the profession that I had been blessed with for so many years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 could help and guide future mobility designers in preparing for the challenges facing them in the future.鈥�
For Manoogian, preparing those students means developing more than technical skill.
鈥淚 believe problem-solving and the thinking process are key to providing well-rounded designers who will make meaningful contributions. 黑料专区 excels at developing that thought process, and I wanted to build on that discipline.鈥�
He also sees an important advantage in where that education takes place. With 黑料专区 located in Southeast Michigan, students have access to generations of design talent and an industry that continues to evolve around them.
Creating Opportunity
For Manoogian, establishing an endowed scholarship brings together the two forces that have shaped his life.
A 黑料专区 class helped him take an early step toward becoming a car designer. His career gave him the opportunity to evaluate and hire emerging designers from around the world. Later, 黑料专区 gave him the chance to teach and mentor students preparing to enter the profession themselves.
Now he can help make that path possible for someone else.
鈥淎s an adjunct professor, I saw firsthand how the expense of completing a design education was a daunting prospect, and I wondered how I might help deserving, talented students reach their goals. A conversation with Dick Ruzzin made me aware of the possibility of creating a scholarship, and subsequently I read that Crystal Wyndham had created a scholarship. Those two made me aware of how I might help鈥�
鈥淢y personal design journey had been anything but straightforward, so I thought I would do whatever I could to help an aspiring student reach their goals without the worry of financial constraints.鈥�
鈥淲ith my sponsored scholarship, I will have satisfied my desire to help the next generation achieve their dreams as I had been able to do,鈥� Manoogian said.
His commitment to automotive design continues in another way as well. Manoogian is currently working on the development of a facility on Detroit鈥檚 riverfront celebrating the art of the automobile and the people who have shaped it. He sees that work as connected to educating future designers, preserving the legacy of the profession while helping inspire those who will carry it forward.
For Manoogian, it all comes back to the two things that have driven his life and career from the beginning.
Design and education. Full circle.
Interested in supporting students through a scholarship?
There are many ways to create a scholarship at 黑料专区 and shape it around what matters most to you. Contact Katie Rusak, Senior Director of Major Gifts, at [email protected] or 313.664.7861 to learn more.
Christine Montalbano (鈥�22, User Experience Design) has always been curious about how things work. A lifelong creative with an interest in making experiences both functional and intuitive, she found a career that brings together her creative and analytical sides. Today, Christine manages the Core Global User Experience Design Team for Stellantis鈥� in-vehicle infotainment system, helping translate complex technology into experiences that feel natural to drivers across its global brands. She also returns to 黑料专区 as an Adjunct Instructor, sharing what she has learned with the next generation of designers.
Can you tell us more about what you do at Stellantis?
At Stellantis, I currently manage the Core Interaction Design Team for our in-vehicle infotainment system. My team and I design the structure and framework of our user interface for all 14 of our global brands. We look at how every single element on the screen is communicating different vehicle functions to the user. We do the actual interaction. We understand the electrical engineering requirements, how the back end and the software work, and build the front end in a digestible way for the driver, passenger and anybody else in the vehicle.
How did you get where you are today?
I was born and raised in the Metro Detroit area. I have tons of family members who have been in the automotive industry. I kind of grew up consumed by going to the auto shows and different cars and coffee events with my family. My parents are big car people, so there was always something to drive or something to sit in growing up. After my undergrad, I went to 黑料专区 for my master鈥檚, and I was just consumed by the automotive industry with different collaborative projects that we were working on. I kind of became a clich茅. I鈥檓 from Detroit. I went to 黑料专区. I went into the car design world, and that鈥檚 how I got here.
Honestly, I鈥檓 an experiences person. I love experiences. I love designing the best possible experience not only for other people, but myself. A lot of times, people make fun of me like, 鈥淐hristine, we don鈥檛 need to experience that the exact way that you want us to.鈥� But it鈥檚 in my nature. Designing the in-vehicle infotainment system, you really have to understand the entire vehicle experience 鈥� before you get in the vehicle, while you鈥檙e in it, when you get out, and even what you鈥檙e doing at home that prepares you for getting in. So I think it really comes down to being super experience-focused and doing something with purpose.
What are you most proud of right now in your career?
What I am most proud of in my career is overcoming fear. I used to be a very anxious person, and now I tell myself, 鈥淵ou just need 10 seconds. Don鈥檛 be afraid, just do it.鈥�
It鈥檚 helped me a lot in overcoming some of those anxieties. Now managing a team, I鈥檓 able to help my team feel that as well. They鈥檙e so talented. They just need 10 seconds of that confidence, and we know what we鈥檙e doing. So I think it鈥檚 about sharing that experience of overcoming fear, gaining confidence through it, and seeing that confidence in my team鈥檚 faces as well.
What鈥檚 it like seeing your work come to life?
Being in the automotive industry, it鈥檚 just part of the gig that these vehicles have long product life cycles. Since I arrived at Stellantis, I鈥檝e been working on the next generation of our in-vehicle infotainment system, and it still is not on the road yet. But I know the army behind it. There are so, so, so many people and brains that really go into it. I think seeing the end product, and it being so sharp and seamless, while knowing every little detail that went into every single pixel on the screen, is just mind-blowing 鈥� knowing how a car works and then seeing it in front of the user looking so mindless and simple, so elegant and not as technical as I understand it to be.
Was being creative something you grew up with as a kid?
Yes, I was always very creative. I was the person making the videos for my family after every family vacation. 鈥淐hristine, make a video of it. Play it at the family reunion.鈥� Which is every week in my family because I鈥檓 super Italian. Then I was always making invitations, different stationery and printed materials. In high school, instead of being in the advanced math classes, I was taking the art classes. I was designing the yearbooks. I was always into not only the visual communication side of things, but making things work and using different computer applications. I even taught myself the whole Adobe suite.
It鈥檚 something that I鈥檝e always been chasing. And who knows where it鈥檒l go because I still chase my creativity every day. I always want to do more. I think that鈥檚 just who I am as a person.
What would you say to someone who is apprehensive about chasing their creative path in life?
If I could say anything to someone who鈥檚 apprehensive about chasing a creative path in life, I would say don鈥檛 be. When I was in high school, the traditional careers were always advertised, which is great, but sometimes I wonder if part of my brain is analytical and then the other part is super creative 鈥� hence user experience design.
I would say, don鈥檛 be afraid to chase it. I鈥檓 sure that鈥檚 the answer they hear all the time when they talk to people like me, but at least start exploring it because the opportunities are endless. When you think of a big corporation, you don鈥檛 realize that there鈥檚 always a creative team behind it, whether it鈥檚 internal or external. Just thinking of how cars are designed, right? I went to school with people who were studying sculpture, and they now are working on the clay models of the cars. You just don鈥檛 know what you don鈥檛 know. Definitely explore it. And if you have an itch to explore something, scratch that itch. I think I鈥檝e scratched a lot of itches that I鈥檝e had, in all directions 鈥� professionally, personally and creatively. Scratch that itch.
Is there something specific about user experience design that you love most?
The big picture in interaction design, specifically in automotive, is you鈥檙e driving a car at 75 miles an hour. It just has to work. You don鈥檛 have time to tinker through multiple apps and look for something. If you need to know where your tire pressure is within a second, you need to be able to find it instantly. I think what I love is understanding the technical side of it and being the bridge that translates that into a digestible way for a human being. It needs to feel emotional. It needs to feel like you鈥檙e working with the car and the human driving it, not a piece of technology.
What is it like going back to 黑料专区 as an Adjunct Instructor after being a student there?
Going back is super rewarding. I remember myself in those students鈥� shoes, and I can see the stress on their faces. Being able to reassure them that you鈥檙e doing this for a reason, you鈥檙e here for a reason, you chose to be here and the hard work will pay off is always something that excites me about being there. I love the energy of school and all the opportunities that are presented to students and all the blue-sky possibilities you have as a student.
It also humbles me at work. I think when you get into the industry, there are certain practices or day-to-day things that you learned about your craft that you may forget to practice on a daily basis. Being an Adjunct, I hold myself accountable to the practices that I鈥檓 teaching my students, the practices that I learned as a student. Then I鈥檝e been able to give back. So over my time at Stellantis, we鈥檝e hired a few of my students as either an intern or a full-time hire as well. So it鈥檚 been a super rewarding experience on my end.
How did 黑料专区 help prepare you for where you are right now?
黑料专区 helped prepare me for where I am now in so many ways. I realized in studying user experience design that I鈥檓 not designing for me or my classmates. I am designing for whoever is going to be interfacing with the product, system or service. Beyond that, 黑料专区 really helped me hone in on the craft. I gained a lot of technical skills in addition to creative thinking. I think combining the two is awesome.
I love being creative, but at the same time I want to understand how things work.
I鈥檇 also say that my professors at 黑料专区 were super inspiring. When I was working on my thesis and research, I spoke with the College about some of the specific areas I was interested in, and 黑料专区 was able to connect me with influential people in those fields. I didn鈥檛 know it at the time, but my thesis focused on programming hardware and software and having it output to a graphical user interface. With the help of my professors, we came up with this awesome outcome, and here I am doing a larger-scale version of what that thesis project was. So it really came full circle.
What would you tell your younger self?
I think when I was younger, I put myself in a box. I always said, 鈥淥h, you鈥檙e just not smart.鈥� I was never a math or science person. That wasn鈥檛 me. I was the creative one, and I was just groomed to think that you had to follow the traditional career path. I would go so hard trying to figure out math and science. I remember my mom used to give me these at-home tests, and I would tell myself, 鈥淚鈥檓 just not smart enough for this. I don鈥檛 know what I鈥檓 going to do with my life.鈥�
And I think looking back, it鈥檚 not that I wasn鈥檛 smart enough. I just wasn鈥檛 following something I was interested in. Once I found that interest, the opportunities were endless. I鈥檓 good at this. There鈥檚 so much I can do with this, learn and even teach. I think I stayed curious, and I鈥檒l always remain curious. It鈥檚 helped me a lot throughout the years, and we鈥檒l see where it continues to take me.
The 黑料专区 community mourns the loss of former trustee, arts enthusiast, philanthropist and Detroit businessman Richard Manoogian.
Mr. Manoogian died Friday, September 25, 2026 at the age of 90. Most recently, he served as chairman emeritus for the global home improvement company Masco Corporation. Under his leadership, the company grew to become a global leader in design, with sales growing from $55 million to over $8 billion during his tenure. A lifelong supporter of the arts, Mr. Manoogian served on the 黑料专区 Board of Trustees until 2002.
In 2006, 黑料专区 recognized his family’s ongoing commitment and service to 黑料专区 by renaming the Academic Resource Center, which housed gallery spaces and the library, to its current name, the Manoogian Visual Resource Center.
In 2008, Mr. Manoogian was awarded a 黑料专区 honorary degree for his significant contribution to the arts, acknowledging his involvement in the renovation of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
President Don Tuski, Chairman Jim Nicholson, and the 黑料专区 Trustees are grateful for Mr. Manoogian鈥檚 service to 黑料专区 as a board member and support of the arts.
More information can be found on Masco Corporation鈥檚 website: