DETROIT – Ten metro Detroit residents working in literary and visual arts will be selected to receive $50,000 each in no strings attached funding along with a suite of artist support opportunities. Unrestricted funding addresses the financial barriers artists face, strengthens the region’s creative economy, and affirms artists’ role in building vibrant neighborhoods. Newly revised guidelines for Kresge Artist Fellowships were released today and artists are encouraged to review them carefully.

Kresge Arts in Detroit is generously funded by The Kresge Foundation and administered by the ����ר��. The Kresge Artist Fellowship application opens December 1, 2026. Full application guidelines are now available at . Eligible artists residing in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties  are invited to apply in the following disciplines:

Fellowship selection criteria include: a demonstrated track record of artistic achievement and high-quality work, the potential to grow and advance in one’s career, and the potential to reflect, enhance, or impact communities within metro Detroit.

Also on offer are 10 Gilda Awards of $5,000 each. These $5,000 awards honor artist Gilda Snowden’s (1954-2014) legacy as a mentor and champion of young, emerging artists in metro Detroit. The Gilda Award recognizes early-career artists gaining momentum and demonstrating exceptional potential through creative risk-taking and boundary-pushing work.

The number of awards in each category will be proportional to the relative number of applications received. Applicants who choose to be considered will also be eligible for Gilda Awards if they do not receive a fellowship.

“For nearly two decades, The Kresge Foundation has invested in metro Detroit artists through individual awards. We have had the privilege of witnessing what becomes possible when artists have the freedom and resources to create, rest, invest, save, dream, and collaborate on their own terms. Every application offers a glimpse into the remarkable talent, vision and imagination that exists across our city’s creative community. What inspires us most is the many ways artists use their gifts to strengthen neighborhoods, spark connection and help shape Detroit’s future,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director for The Kresge Foundation’s Detroit program. “This year’s panelists will face an incredibly difficult task as always. Whether selected or not, no single award will ever define the quality of an artist’s work or fully measure their impact. We are deeply grateful for the time, care and vulnerability that goes into each application.”

Through this continued support, The Kresge Foundation affirms that artists are central to Detroit’s growth and essential partners in advancing opportunity and creating resilient, connected communities.

“These fellowships prove that resources in the hands of independent artists who live, work, and build here strengthen our communities,” said Katie McGowan, director of Kresge Arts in Detroit. “Metro Detroit is unlike any other place in the country and protecting its unique character doesn’t happen by accident. It requires sustained creative work to cultivate regional identity and inspire civic imagination. Unrestricted funding makes that type of work possible.”

AWARD-WINNING FILM PROGRAM

Kresge Arts in Detroit offers each fellow the opportunity to work with a local filmmaker to produce a short film about their work. Select films have been screened and received awards at local, national, and international film festivals in recent years. In 2021, Detroit-based production company was awarded a Michigan Emmy for work on the series. .

In addition to the film, fellows receive one year of artist support including networking, professional coaching, and legal and accounting consultations.  “This award not only gave me financial capacity to pursue my writing more meaningfully but also the confidence to apply to other opportunities,” said .

KEY DATES

November 2, 2026: Application guidelines available
December 1, 2026: Online application opens
January 14, 2027 by 11:59 PM: Application deadline

The 2027 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients will be selected by a panel of independent, local and national artists and arts professionals. Winners of the 2026 Kresge Artist Fellowship had previously applied twice, on average. A new year brings new panelists with fresh perspectives; previous applicants are strongly encouraged to re-apply.

As it approaches its 20th year, the program continues to demonstrate how investment in the arts transforms what is possible for communities: fueling creative careers and animating neighborhoods.

APPLICATION INFO SESSIONS

Kresge Arts in Detroit staff will hold an online application info session and walkthrough in December, followed by a second online Q&A session in January. These virtual sessions are not required, however, applicants are encouraged to attend for support in creating compelling applications for a Kresge Artist Fellowship. Applicants can register to attend using the links below.

December 10, 2026
5:30 – 6:30 PM

January 9, 2027
5:30 – 6:30 PM

Visit for the complete guidelines, FAQs, and additional resources. Please direct questions about application requirements to Kresge Arts in Detroit at admin@kresgeartsindetroit.org or by phone at (313) 744-3204.

See our for graphics and additional resources.

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That spirit filled the General Motors Auditorium at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education on October 13, as the ����ר�� 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 ����ר�� Board of Trustees, Board Chair Jim Nicholson reflected on the importance of sustaining opportunities for emerging artists and designers.

“����ר�� has always believed that creative talent deserves the opportunity to be developed,” Nicholson said. “Scholarship 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.”

Detroit’s Creative Future

This year’s celebration highlighted ����ר��’s 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’s commitment to expanding opportunity for Detroit students and investing in the city’s 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 ����ר��, 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.

“We are deeply grateful to the Gilbert Family Foundation for their extraordinary commitment to Detroit students and to ����ר��,” ����ר�� President Don Tuski said. “Their investment creates opportunity at every stage — from helping young people discover what’s possible through precollege experiences, to making a ����ר�� 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.”

Opportunity in Action

Scholarship support took on a deeply personal meaning as one ����ר�� 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 ����ר�� 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 ����ר��, 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.

“Receiving that scholarship completely transformed what was next for me,” Martinez shared. “Any doubt and worry left my body and I was so sure that I was meant to do what I was doing.”

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.

“Molly and the Valade family, you’ve made my dream a reality,” she said. “Thank you for showing me that this isn’t impossible.”

Throughout the afternoon, the stories and connections in the room reflected the many ways investment in ����ר�� students can shape what comes next — 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 — relationships that will continue to shape ����ר��, Detroit’s 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 ����ר��, please contact Katie Rusak at krusak@ccsdetroit.edu or 313.664.7861.

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Song participated in a panel discussion following the award ceremony alongside ����ר��’s Undergraduate Transportation Design Chair, Paul Snyder, General Motors’ 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’s recognition highlights both his accomplishments and potential as an emerging automotive designer. It also reflects the Automotive Hall of Fame’s commitment to supporting emerging talent and ����ר��’s ability to prepare creative talent to shape the future of transportation and mobility design.

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So when Manoogian recently read about former GM colleagues who had established scholarships at the ����ר��, it sparked an idea. After a 35-year career in automotive design and years spent teaching the next generation of designers at ����ר��, this was another way he could give back.

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’s long relationship with design education and with ����ר��, 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’s degree in Product Design from Michigan State University, Manoogian landed a job as a clay sculptor at Ford Motor Company. But he still hadn’t 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 ����ר��.

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’s night class and asked him for help developing a portfolio for admission to ArtCenter College of Design in Los Angeles.

“LaGassey 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’s 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’s 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 ����ר�� evolve.

“����ר�� had become a source of incredible design talent and had established itself as one of the premier international transportation design educational institutions,” Manoogian said.

After several years evaluating student portfolios, it became apparent to Manoogian that ����ר�� 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 ����ר��

When Manoogian’s 35-year career at GM came to a close in 2009, he returned to ����ר��, this time as an adjunct instructor teaching senior Transportation Design students.

“Here was an opportunity to give back to the profession that I had been blessed with for so many years,” he said. “I could help and guide future mobility designers in preparing for the challenges facing them in the future.”

For Manoogian, preparing those students means developing more than technical skill.

“I believe problem-solving and the thinking process are key to providing well-rounded designers who will make meaningful contributions. ����ר�� excels at developing that thought process, and I wanted to build on that discipline.”

He also sees an important advantage in where that education takes place. With ����ר�� 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 ����ר�� 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, ����ר�� 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.

“As 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”

“My 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.”

His commitment to automotive design continues in another way as well. Manoogian is currently working on the development of a facility on Detroit’s 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 ����ר�� and shape it around what matters most to you. Contact Katie Rusak, Senior Director of Major Gifts, at krusak@ccsdetroit.edu or 313.664.7861 to learn more.

The post Shaping the Next Generation: John Manoogian’s Enduring Connection to ����ר�� appeared first on ����ר��.

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 ����ר�� for my master’s, and I was just consumed by the automotive industry with different collaborative projects that we were working on. I kind of became a cliché. I’m from Detroit. I went to ����ר��. I went into the car design world, and that’s how I got here.

Honestly, I’m 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, “Christine, we don’t need to experience that the exact way that you want us to.” But it’s in my nature. Designing the in-vehicle infotainment system, you really have to understand the entire vehicle experience – before you get in the vehicle, while you’re in it, when you get out, and even what you’re 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?

It’s helped me a lot in overcoming some of those anxieties. Now managing a team, I’m able to help my team feel that as well. They’re so talented. They just need 10 seconds of that confidence, and we know what we’re doing. So I think it’s about sharing that experience of overcoming fear, gaining confidence through it, and seeing that confidence in my team’s faces as well.

What’s it like seeing your work come to life?

Being in the automotive industry, it’s just part of the gig that these vehicles have long product life cycles. Since I arrived at Stellantis, I’ve 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 – 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. “Christine, make a video of it. Play it at the family reunion.” Which is every week in my family because I’m 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.

What would you say to someone who is apprehensive about chasing their creative path in life?

If I could say anything to someone who’s apprehensive about chasing a creative path in life, I would say don’t 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 – hence user experience design.

I would say, don’t be afraid to chase it. I’m sure that’s 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’t realize that there’s always a creative team behind it, whether it’s 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’t know what you don’t know. Definitely explore it. And if you have an itch to explore something, scratch that itch. I think I’ve scratched a lot of itches that I’ve had, in all directions – 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’re driving a car at 75 miles an hour. It just has to work. You don’t 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’re working with the car and the human driving it, not a piece of technology.

What is it like going back to ����ר�� as an Adjunct Instructor after being a student there?

Going back is super rewarding. I remember myself in those students’ shoes, and I can see the stress on their faces. Being able to reassure them that you’re doing this for a reason, you’re 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’m teaching my students, the practices that I learned as a student. Then I’ve been able to give back. So over my time at Stellantis, we’ve hired a few of my students as either an intern or a full-time hire as well. So it’s been a super rewarding experience on my end.

How did ����ר�� help prepare you for where you are right now?

����ר�� helped prepare me for where I am now in so many ways. I realized in studying user experience design that I’m 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, ����ר�� 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’d also say that my professors at ����ר�� 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 ����ר�� was able to connect me with influential people in those fields. I didn’t 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, “Oh, you’re just not smart.” I was never a math or science person. That wasn’t 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, “I’m just not smart enough for this. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.”

And I think looking back, it’s not that I wasn’t smart enough. I just wasn’t following something I was interested in. Once I found that interest, the opportunities were endless. I’m good at this. There’s so much I can do with this, learn and even teach. I think I stayed curious, and I’ll always remain curious. It’s helped me a lot throughout the years, and we’ll see where it continues to take me.

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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 ����ר�� Board of Trustees until 2002.

In 2006, ����ר�� recognized his family’s ongoing commitment and service to ����ר�� 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 ����ר�� 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 ����ר�� Trustees are grateful for Mr. Manoogian’s service to ����ר�� as a board member and support of the arts.

More information can be found on Masco Corporation’s website:

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When Darcel Deneau, ’02 Fine Arts, first came to the ����ר��, she couldn’t afford to stay.

Drawn by ����ר��’s reputation, she enrolled about a year after graduating from high school. But the cost of continuing was more than she or her family could manage, so she left school, married and started a family.

Then, in her 30s, she came back. A scholarship helped give her the opportunity to return to ����ר�� and finish what she had started. That journey gave Darcel a perspective on opportunity that has stayed with her ever since.

Returning to ����ר�� opened the world Darcel had wanted to be part of years earlier. She developed her artistic voice, became part of Detroit’s creative community and discovered something else she still associates with ����ר��: people willing to help one another.

“People tend to be nurturing, compassionate, generous with their time and willing to help one another,” Darcel said.

More than 20 years after graduating, Darcel has remained connected to ����ר�� through the Alumni Council, mentoring, volunteering and attending Industry Days. Hosted by the Office of Partnerships, Industry Day events bring alumni and creative professionals back to campus to review student work, share advice, and help emerging artists and designers prepare for careers in the creative industries – reflecting something that has long defined the ����ר�� community: alumni returning to invest in the next generation.

It was during one of those visits that Darcel met graduating Senior Neo Hopkins, ’25 Studio Art & Craft.

One Conversation

Neo was approaching graduation when his paintings and collage work caught Darcel’s attention. She could envision his ideas translated into another medium: glass. So she extended an invitation.

“I was excited when Darcel invited me to her studio, but I was also nervous,” Neo remembered. “Sometimes people say, ‘Come by sometime,’ but you don’t always know if they really mean it.”

The timing made the invitation even more significant. Graduation was approaching, and Neo was trying to determine what would come next. He wanted mentorship and people he could turn to as he began navigating life as a working artist.

“From the very first day I visited her studio, everything felt easy,” Neo said. “She was incredibly welcoming and generous.”

That first visit led to another, and then another. A professional connection became a creative partnership and, ultimately, a friendship.

Seeing What’s Possible

During those early studio visits, Darcel introduced Neo to glass and taught him glass portraiture. As he explored the medium under her guidance, he began to see how it could complement his own artistic ideas.

What began as artistic instruction grew into an enduring mentorship. Darcel became someone Neo could call while navigating commissions or trying something new. When he needed his first studio space after graduation, she helped make that possible, too.

Today, the two artists work in the same building, exchanging ideas and continuing to learn from one another. Looking back, Neo can draw a remarkably straight line from that first invitation to where he is now.

“I probably wouldn’t have started working in glass without Darcel,” he said.

His career is growing in other ways, too. Neo works full time as a Brand Identity Coordinator for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation while continuing to develop his studio practice, take commissions and pursue new creative opportunities.

People often describe mentorship as a one-way relationship, but Darcel believes both people grow through the experience.

“Neo inspires me just as much as I hope I’ve encouraged him,” she said.

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Detroit – College students now have new paths into sustainable creative careers as the ����ר�� (����ר��) launches two new degree programs. Meeting demand from employers and students, the college will offer a Bachelor of Arts in Business for Creative Industries, giving students the business fluency creative teams need; and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Human-Centered Robotics Design, positioning graduates at the forefront as the field grows toward a projected $6.4 billion by 2030. Applications for both degrees are now open with enrollment beginning Fall 2027.

“Art and design schools like ����ר�� have always been about educating great makers and creating the future. Increasingly, the industries our students enter need something more: people who can lead the business and strategy side of our creative economy, and human-centered design thinkers who will shape the future of how we interact with emerging technology in our daily lives,” said Don Tuski, ����ר�� President. “We’re rethinking how a creative education prepares students for today’s creative industries — degrees that are accelerated, cost less and consider where creative careers are headed. Our new programs are a direct response to what our students are asking for and what employers are telling us they need.”

Bachelor of Arts in Business for Creative Industries

Creative industries need talented professionals who can lead projects, manage teams and translate creative vision into a working business. The Bachelor of Arts in Business for Creative Industries is built to prepare exactly that kind of talent, and to do it in 90 credits across three years, instead of 120 credits across four years as in traditional programs. Students save a full year of tuition and can start leading sooner without giving up the preparation they need to succeed. In addition, the program allows block transfer from an Associate of Arts in Business and is fully aligned with the MI Transfer Pathway for Business, allowing transfer students to easily apply their associate degree or business credits toward the program, further maximizing time and financial savings.

The degree pairs core coursework in marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, strategy, leadership and project management with studio electives alongside ����ר��’s art and design majors, exposing students to how creative work gets made and what artists need to succeed. Students can focus in the following areas: film and game production, product design, transportation design, communication design, interior design or curation, or explore electives across disciplines. Internships, challenge-based projects and collaboration with studio majors give students real experience managing creative teams and projects before they graduate. Graduates are prepared for roles including creative project manager, producer, brand or marketing manager, product manager, design researcher and business analyst.

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Human-Centered Robotics Design

With the robotics industry projected to grow from a $2 billion industry in 2024 to $6.4 billion by 2030, ����ר��’s new Bachelor of Fine Arts in Human-Centered Robotics Design will equip students to lead in one of the fastest-growing segments of industrial design.

The degree is a STEM-designated industrial design program grounded in human-robot interaction, which is the study of what makes autonomous systems feel trustworthy rather than unsettling. As robots move beyond factory floors into hospitals, schools and homes, the industry needs designers who can shape not just what these systems look like, but how they behave around the people using them. Students will pair design ethics and behavioral science with studio classes, examining how elements like movement, light, sound, interaction and materials shape human-machine integration.

Being based in Detroit puts students in close proximity to many of the companies leading the robotics industry. The city’s manufacturers, automakers and innovation hubs are already incorporating autonomous robotics into daily life for consumers, giving students unique access to the companies, internships and hands-on projects shaping the future of human-centered interaction.

Accelerated BFA/MFA Degrees and Transfer-Friendly Completion Programs

����ר��’s new programs are connected by the idea that creative careers shouldn’t require choosing between passion and practicality. By building degrees that are focused, more affordable and closely tied to the future of creative industries, ����ר�� is equipping students to enter the creative economy and succeed.

To that end, ����ר�� is launching new accelerated degree programs that give students the unique opportunity to complete both a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in five years, removing a full year of tuition compared with pursuing the degrees separately. The program is currently offered across three tracks, with additional programs in development:

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design and Master of Fine Arts in Color and Materials Design
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Product Design and Master of Fine Arts in Color and Materials Design
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design and Master of Fine Arts in User Experience Design

Additionally, ����ר�� is launching three transfer-friendly completion programs with a direct path from an associate’s to a bachelor’s degree in two years, removing barriers and added costs that often impact transfer students in traditional programs. Pathways include:

• Bachelor of Design in Interior Design
• Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies
• Bachelor of Arts in Illustration

About ����ר��

The ����ר�� (����ר��) is a nonprofit, private college accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and authorized by the Michigan Education Department to grant bachelor’s and master’s degrees. ����ר��, located in midtown Detroit, strives to provide students with the tools needed for successful careers in the dynamic and growing creative industries. ����ר�� fosters students’ resolve to pursue excellence, act ethically, engage their responsibilities as citizens and learn throughout their lives. With world-class faculty and unsurpassed facilities, students learn to be visual communicators who actively use art and design toward the betterment of society. The College is a major supplier of talent to numerous industries, such as transportation, film and animation, advertising and communications, consumer electronics, athletic apparel and many more. Its graduates are exhibiting artists and teachers, design problem solvers and innovators, as well as creative leaders in business.

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During her time at ����ר��, Stella helped put Detroit on the world stage by stewarding the city’s designation as the only UNESCO City of Design in the United States. She was Executivunie Director of Design Core Detroit, and most recently Vice President of Strategy and Communications at the ����ר��.

In her new role, Stella will set a shared strategy and align resources so that the full ecosystem operates effectively, giving employers and developers a coordinated Detroit. “Detroit’s neighborhoods and business community succeed together,” said Mayor Sheffield. “Olga will be a key architect in making Detroit the best place in the country to start, grow, and locate a business. When businesses thrive here, they create the jobs, opportunity, and stability that Detroit families are counting on.”

“I am inspired by Mayor Sheffield’s vision, and I can’t imagine doing this work anywhere but in
my own hometown,” said Stella. “Detroit has given my family so much and this a historic moment for the City of Detroit, and I look forward to bringing a different approach to economic development, one that delivers for our neighborhoods and employers alike.”

����ר�� President Don Tuski expressed his enthusiasm for Olga Stella and her new role.
“Since Olga first joined ����ר�� in 2016, she has played a pivotal role in increasing ����ר��’s external community profile and visibility, as well as strengthening ����ר��’s internal culture in partnership with campus leaders,” said President Tuski.

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