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The College of Design mourns the loss of Professor Emeritus Roger D. Clemence, who served the University of Minnesota for more than 30 years as a teacher, mentor, and leader.

Ever since sketching themepark rides as a six-year-old inspired by Disney’s Tower of Terror™, interior design graduate Karina Nelson (BS, ‘26) dreamed of creating immersive worlds. Now, after years of blending storytelling, design, and experiential thinking at the University of Minnesota College of Design, she is beginning her career with Walt Disney Imagineering. Nelson shared her reflections on the mentors, projects, and moments that shaped her path from aspiring “Imagineer” to professional designer. 

A recent Historic New England design competition, sparked by Allen Kolkowitz’s (B.Arch ’82) vision to replace a long-standing portable toilet at the iconic Gropius House with a more thoughtful visitor experience, was recently featured in The New York Times. Kolkowitz’s interdisciplinary approach to architecture and design also continues through the Kusske Design Initiative, which reflects the collaborative values he shared with partner Christopher Kusske (BLA ’78).

What if one of Minnesota’s most destructive invasive species could be used to bring communities together? Recent landscape architecture graduate Sean Durbin (MLA '26) transformed harvested buckthorn into a handcrafted marimba, creating a joyful new way for communities to engage in ecological restoration through sound, design, and collective action.

A globally recognized architect, educator, and College of Design alumnus, William D. Chilton returns to inspire the Class of 2026.

Through internships, leadership roles, and industry connections, Bailey Collmann (BS, Retail Merchandising, ’23) transformed her passion for retail into a full-time career at Target Corporation. Her journey highlights the hands-on learning and real-world opportunities that define the Retail & Consumer Studies program.

The University of Minnesota’s Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program has earned full accreditation, establishing a newly recognized undergraduate pathway to professional licensure. This milestone marks a major step forward for the College of Design, alongside the renewed accreditation of its Master of Landscape Architecture program.

As cities around the world confront questions of growth, livability, and equity, Sungduck Lee, Assistant Professor and Director of the Geosocial Visualization Lab at the College of Design, offers a new way to think about the impacts of density and the communities it affects. Her new co-authored book, Urban Density Contextualized: Design Strategies for Building Density in Cities (Routledge), examines how design can foster more inclusive, resilient, and human-centered urban environments.

Landscape Architecture graduates from the College of Design are building careers that extend far beyond traditional practice. From climate resilience planning and campus development to cultural landscape preservation and public parks leadership, alumni are applying design thinking in powerful, interdisciplinary ways. Their work demonstrates how an education in landscape architecture equips graduates to navigate complex systems, collaborate across disciplines, and shape resilient, inclusive places.

When Fraser Hall reopened in the Fall of 2025, it redefined how the University of Minnesota teaches chemistry. Architect and professor at the College of Design, Jennifer Yoos, shares how her team at VJAA transformed the historic building into a collaborative, sustainable space for student learning.

From river corridors and wetlands to city streets and community spaces, students in the Master of Landscape Architecture program are learning to design with empathy and imagination, restoring connections between people, place, and the living systems that sustain us.

A wildly popular product design course at the University of Minnesota College of Design gives students a hands-on learning opportunity that leaves them with real-world experience.

This fall, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Design is opening a new chapter in the state’s creative economy with Minnesota’s first Bachelor of Science in User Experience (UX) Design. Born from the success of the college’s popular UX minor, the program gives students four years to explore the intersection of technology, design, and human behavior. Hear from two of our alumni on the formative impact the UX minor has had on their careers. 

Richard Graves, associate professor of architecture and research director at the Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR), has received the University of Minnesota’s Innovation Impact Case Award for advancing sustainable building practices. His work helped shape the Minnesota B3 Sustainable Building Guidelines, launched in response to the state’s Next Generation Energy Act to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Today, B3 continues to set the standard for energy efficiency, resilience, and net-zero goals in state-funded buildings.

This summer, College of Design graduate students traded classrooms for temples, gardens, and bustling city streets in Japan. The May term study abroad program offered more than travel – it opened a global lens on architecture, culture, and community, leaving students inspired to carry these lessons into their future design careers.

Award-winning designer and founder of Studio BV, Betsy Vohs brings her human-centered design philosophy, commitment to social impact, and decades of alumni leadership to guide the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. 

Jessica Garcia Fritz, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Minnesota and Citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Inspires Future Indigenous Designers

Each year, the College of Design proudly honors exceptional students, faculty, and staff whose remarkable contributions have enriched our academic community. Award recipients are nominated across multiple categories by their peers, including faculty, students, and staff.

A designer, entrepreneur, and changemaker, Larissa Loden embodies the spirit of creativity, resilience, and purpose-driven design.

Assistant Professor of Architecture Dingliang Yang has been named a recipient of the 2025-2027 McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, marking the first time a U of M architecture faculty member has received this prestigious award since its establishment in 1987.

Richard Graves, Associate Professor of Architecture and Research Director of the Center for Sustainable Building Research has been working in collaboration with Pelican Rapids residents to develop a new teen center that fits the unique needs of the community. 

The College of Design is proud to announce Minnesota’s first Bachelor of Science Degree in User Experience (UX) Design. 

College of Design students teamed up with the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE) to create a refreshed design for the group's signature graduation stoles.

Pig’s Eye Lake at the Mississippi River in St. Paul, a site of historical pollution with significant Indigenous heritage and ecological importance, will serve as a catalyst project of the “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” studio. 

This prestigious award goes to one architectural educator, nationally, each year. The last University of Minnesota educator to win it was Ralph Rapson in 1987.

The Bring Back 6th Mobile Museum exhibition kicked off on May 15, 2022, during an outdoor street fest organized by Our Streets Minneapolis (OSM). Crafted by six Heritage Studies and Public History students, Jessie Merriam, Ayaan Natala, Jade Ryerson, Hibaa Roba, Angel Swann, and Carrisa Thomas, the exhibition shed light on the once-vibrant Black and Jewish neighborhood along 6th Avenue North that was bulldozed between the 1930s and 1950s to make way for the city’s first highway.