Savannah College of Art and Design won top honors at Walt Disney Imagineering's 27th Imaginations Design Competition. Started in 1991 by Disney Legend and Imagineering executive, the late Marty Sklar, the creative competition nurtures the next generation of diverse Imagineers. Out of more than 270 qualified project submissions, SCAD teams won the two top prizes.

Teams were challenged to select an actual abandoned "ghost town" from anywhere in the world and revitalize it. Entries had to consider the historic value, as well as have respect for the traditions and communities of the original and surrounding areas of the location.

First place was awarded to SCAD students Carlos Ginatta (M.F.A., themed entertainment design, M.Arch., 2008, B.F.A., architecture, 2007), Michael Howell (M.F.A., themed entertainment design), Maria Mondloch (M.F.A., themed entertainment design) and Maya Vyas (M.F.A., animation) for "Caguaya." Built around the sunken ruins of the 17th century city of Port Royal, the exploration center takes guests below the waves to discover the city's vibrant history. At "Caguaya" guests explore the city through state-of-the-art tunnels never before used in open water, get a closer look with augmented reality-enhanced helmet dives, and help plant scientifically engineered super coral. To finish their visit, guests experience a live performance from a fully submersible theatre that transcends land and sea.

Second place went to SCAD students Cameron Hoss (B.F.A., industrial design), Corrie Pickering (B.F.A., production design), Claire Puginier (B.F.A., industrial design, graphic design minor) and Emily Sasaki (B.F.A., animation) for "Spaceport Hashima." Located off the coast of Japan, "Spaceport Hashima" is an epicenter of traditional and Japanese culture. Created by renovating existing buildings of a former Japanese ghost town, "Hashima" is a thriving interplanetary terminal surrounded by a luxury destination resort, featuring museums, restaurants, and lively nightlife, as well as research and development facilities.

Six teams of finalists received an all-expense-paid trip to Walt Disney Imagineering in California, January 22-26, to meet and network with Imagineers, go behind-the-scenes to see how Disney magic is created, and interview for paid internships during their visit.

Projects were judged on mastery of skills and talents, guest experience, diversity and market perspective, uniqueness, adherence to project challenge, and team collaboration. The judges were looking for the ability to recognize the cultural nuances of the selected location, expanding the boundaries of what currently exists, and an evaluation of business implications and impact on the community.

Judges examined the teams' ability to tell a compelling and engaging story, broad appeal to a wide audience, and a knowledge and passion for Walt Disney Imagineering, where Imagineers blend storytelling with the latest technologies to create immersive experiences that delight families at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts all around the world.

Throughout the years, SCAD students participating in this competition have had the opportunity to present their projects to Imagineering executives. SCAD students have become interns and fulfilled their dreams of working alongside Imagineers, including becoming full-time Imagineers themselves.

The top placed team is awarded a cash prize of $1,000, and an additional $1,000 grant is awarded to the sponsoring university.

Congratulations to our Bees for their hard work and deserved success!

As we prepare to bid adieu to 2017, we look back at the past 12 months at SCAD and all the memorable moments we shared. Here is an exemplary selection from the year gone by: the SCAD 17 of '17.

1. SCAD GamingFest premieres in Atlanta: In November, SCAD Atlanta hosted the first ever SCAD GamingFest, a two-day convocation examining the evolving world of game design and development, including appearances by experts from EA SPORTS, Ubisoft, Cartoon Network, Google Daydream Labs and Georgia Game Developers Association.

2. SCAD FASHWKND makes runway splash: The inaugural SCAD FASHWKND in May presented four days of original designs curated from the finest SCAD School of Fashion senior and graduate student collections. A runway show at SCAD Savannah and tableaux vivants at SCAD Atlanta offered glimpses into the fashionable future here and now.

3. SCAD art curation adorns new stadium: SCAD partnered with Mercedes-Benz Stadium, new home of Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, to curate all art for the stadium, featuring more than 200 works by 55 artists including 20 SCAD affiliates. Each game day, the curatorial selections of SCAD enhance the experience of the 71,000 fans in attendance.

4. Symposium for Jacob Lawrence: Amidst "Lines of Influence," the ongoing SCADMOA group exhibition celebrating the centennial of the birth of the acclaimed painter and chronicler of the African American experience, a two-day symposium of lectures, performances, screenings and panel discussions brought together scholars, artists, alumni and students to commemorate Lawrence's life and legacy.

5. Melissa Spitz named TIME's Instagram Photographer of the Year: Alumna Melissa Spitz's (M.F.A. photography, 2014) documentary photo series "You Have Nothing to Worry About" received the TIME accolade. Spitz's work will feature in an upcoming exhibition at the SCAD Museum of Art, opening January 2018.

6. DesignIntelligence recognizes SCAD interior design programs: The university's interior design undergraduate and graduate programs got the esteem treatment from DesignIntelligence, receiving the No. 1 ranking on the list of "America's Best Architecture & Design Schools 2018." Since 2008, SCAD interior design undergraduate and graduate programs have each garnered No. 1 standing six times by DesignIntelligence, the rankings body of the Design Futures Council.

7. Anna Haldewang receives European Product Design Awards: SCAD industrial design student Anna Haldewang's  (B.F.A. industrial design, 2017) project "Renascence" was named Discovery of the Year, the organization's highest honor, as well as capturing the gold medal in the transportation category. "Renascence," a cutting-edge design of a 300-foot trimaran yacht, follows Haldewang's "Plan Bee" drone project in earning the alumna international exposure.

8. Design for Social Impact recognizes Edgar Espejo: Inspired by his experiences with a deaf classmate, Edgar Espejo (B.F.A, industrial design, 2016; B.F.A., service design, 2016) created a service that allows deaf students to participate in regular classes with hearing students. Espejo's supporting service Muhimu (which means vital in Swahili) was recognized by the Core77 Design Awards as student winner in the Design for Social Impact category.

9. SCAD shines at YMA Awards: At the 2017 Young Menswear Association (YMA) Awards, 20 SCAD fashion and fashion marketing and management students each won $5,000 Fashion Scholarship Fund Awards, marking the most awards by a single university in the history of the competition.

10. SCAD alumni permeate Academy Awards: At the 89th Academy Awards, 47 SCAD alumni and students were recognized for their work on 11 of the year's best films, including best picture winner "Moonlight." SCAD alumni contributed to nominees for best picture, animated feature film, cinematography, costume design, directing, film editing, production design, sound editing, visual effects, and adapted screenplay. Eleven alumni contributed to more than one Oscar-nominated film.

11. SCAD Student Media earn top honors: At the 2017 Society for Collegiate Journalists National Contest, SCAD Atlanta's student magazine SCAN claimed first and second place in the Outstanding General Interest Magazine category. SCAD Atlanta Radio staff won first place in Internet Radio and Broadcast Overall Excellence for the second consecutive year.

12. Olivia Ray puts pedals to the medal: In a record setting year for SCAD Athletics at the state and national level, excellence was epitomized SCAD cyclist Olivia Ray, who won two national titles in track cycling at the meet in Indianapolis in September.

13. "SCAD: Architecture of a University" edifies readership: Assouline Publishing released the 360-page volume by contributing authors Paula Wallace, Margaret Russell and Chuck Chewning, highlighting the university's most inspired and inspiring spaces. Replete with 40 detailed narratives and 200 sublime photographs, the book leads readers from the university's flagship building Poetter Hall, to the panoply of SCAD architectural marvels around Savannah, and in Atlanta, Hong Kong and Lacoste.

14. SCAD Savannah Film Festival celebrates 20th anniversary: More than 50,000 film fans and industry insiders converged on Savannah for an unforgettable film festival featuring over 140 screenings amidst honorees Salma Hayek Pinault, John Boyega, Zoey Deutch, Richard Gere, Sir Patrick Stewart, Holly Hunter, Robert Pattinson, Willow Shields, Kyra Sedgwick, Aaron Sorkin and Andrea Riseborough.

15. Carlos Cruz-Diez has love, will travel: First at SCADMOA, then SCAD AT MIAMI, "Chroma," an exhibition by deFINE ART honoree Carlos Cruz-Diez, transported gallery-goers with its groundbreaking color theory in action. Designed as site-specific, "Chroma" proved as at home in Miami Beach as it was in Savannah. Bravo, maestro.

16. SCAD keeps student safe during major storm: With the September arrival of Hurricane Irma imminent, SCAD relocated more than 600 students and faculty from Savannah to its Atlanta campus. Students were given special tours of SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film and attended workshops taught by industry-leading SCAD faculty, who join the university from Dreamworks, Random House, Spanx, Alexander McQueen and Walt Disney Animation.

17. SCADfit opens inside the Hive: The university's emphasis health and wellness gained added traction with the opening of its new Savannah gym, SCADfit. The 12,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility, located within the Hive residence complex, offers fitness classes including ballet, Pilates and Zumba, and IC7 Indoor Cycles and Ciclotte monowheels. Sweat necessary, results guaranteed.

Thank you, dear SCADworks readers. See you in 2018!

Competing against undergraduate and graduate students from more than 40 colleges and universities across the U.S., Tess Burns (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management) is the top recipient of the 2017 National Retail Federation Ray Greenly Scholarship.

Burns composed an essay on innovation and a stop-motion animation "personal brand" video, then created a unique case study for the furniture and home décor company West Elm. Digital retail executives from companies including Williams-Sonoma, Kohl's and Nordstrom selected Burns as one of 25 semi-finalists to receive a stipend to attend this year's Student Experience at Shop.org in Los Angeles, where the trophy, and $25,000 top scholarship, belonged to Tess.

SCAD: How did you approach your award-winning case study with West Elm?

TESS BURNS: The challenge was to create a prototype to enhance the West Elm customer experience.

I went into the West Elm here in Savannah and saw a couple shopping who told the salesperson: "We don't know if this bedspread will match the paint in our bedroom." That sparked my idea. I realized augmented reality was the best way to solve their problem. Then I had to make an app.

There's an augmented reality function on my West Elm app so you can pull out your phone in your bedroom and select items and have them 3-D rendered in your room. You can see how a lamp is going to look like on your nightstand, what a bedspread will look like on your bed. Or you can take a photo of your room and come in to a West Elm store and have a consultant help you. It's about increasing customer confidence, online or in store.

SCAD: What was the key to you winning the top prize?

BURNS: I'd just come off working on a SCAD CLC [Collaborative Learning Center] project with Urban Decay Cosmetics that involved creating an innovative store experience, so I applied those lessons to my West Elm project.  At SCAD I not only learn business savvy but also acquire design knowledge. With my West Elm project, I was very aware of the aesthetics of the presentation and how that would make people think and feel.

Luke Chatelain, West Elm VP of Innovation, said they appreciated my passion for the company. West Elm values sustainability and educating people on their products, supporting the environment and society as a whole. I really connected with that.

SCAD: What was it like coming back to SCAD after your trip to Los Angeles?

BURNS: After the National Retail Federation event, I left L.A. and got back to Savannah at midnight. I arrived at my 8 a.m. class the next day in Morris Hall, where they announced there was a guest speaker upstairs. I went up, walked into the room and everyone started clapping. I started to sit down for the guest speaker but they said "No, this is for you." They had a cake with my name on it. It was so nice!

Professor Monika Jonevski and Daniel Green, chair of fashion marketing and management, encouraged me throughout the process and provided feedback. I wanted to do this for myself and for SCAD as a whole. It's a huge step towards getting a job in the industry I love.

The Savannah College of Art and Design has again earned international honors in the esteemed Red Dot Award: Communication Design competition. With students and alumni receiving 39 total awards, the 2017 competition marks the most wins for SCAD to date.

SCAD entries earned 12 awards in the film and animation category, 10 in illustration, and five each advertising, and publishing and print media. Projects from SCAD students and alumni earned additional awards in the interface and user experience design, typography, apps, and posters categories. Award recipients include students from SCAD campuses in Hong Kong, Savannah and Atlanta.

"SCAD competed with design students across the globe to bring home an impressive number of awards this year," said Anthony Fisher, dean of the school of communication arts. "These honors speak to the unsurpassed quality of the curriculum and the dedication of our faculty. They exemplify the university's status as the preeminent source of knowledge in innovation and creativity."

Global design authority Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen administers the annual Red Dot Awards. For the Communication Design competition, an international jury of 24 judges from 11 countries selected pieces of compelling quality and creativity. One of the most ambitious worldwide design competitions, the Red Dot Awards garnered submissions from 50 countries. This year's Communication Design program drew a total of 8,051 submissions across 18 categories.

SCAD alumna Whitney Renea Stephenson (B.F.A., film and television, 2016) received the coveted "Best of the Best" award for "Dreamkeeper," a narrative short film about Tom, a dream watchman, and how an encounter with an observant young girl alters his perspective on the world of dreams.

The Red Dot Gala on Friday, Oct. 27 will honor the distinguished recipients at the Konzerthaus Berlin in Berlin, Germany. Stephenson will receive her "Best of the Best" trophy and compete for the Red Dot: Grand Prix award, which recognizes the top work in each category. Following the ceremony, Red Dot winners will celebrate "Designers' Night" at E-Werk Berlin and an exclusive work showcase, "Design on Stage," exhibiting the winning pieces.

Congratulations to the following SCAD student and alumni recipients of Red Dot Awards in Communication Design 2017:

Illustration
Lidan Chen (M.A., illustration, 2017)
Nick Erickson (B.F.A., animation)
Irena Freitas (M.F.A., illustration, 2017)
Yevheniia Haidamaka (M.F.A., illustration, 2017)
Jamie Kao (B.F.A., graphic design, 2017)
Shann Larsson (B.F.A., graphic design, 2016)
Taylor McCaslin (B.F.A., illustration, 2017)
Amalia Restrepo (M.F.A., illustration)
Sunny B. Yazdani (M.A., illustration, 2017)

Film and Animation
Justin Boon (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016)
Meadhbh Deeney (B.F.A., film and television, 2016)
Mohamed Echkouna (B.F.A., visual effects, 2016)
Milena Goncalez (M.F.A., animation, 2016)
Kuozheng Hao (B.F.A., animation, 2016)
Robyn Hicks (M.F.A., film and television, 2017)
Melanie Amanda Ho (B.F.A., film and television, 2015)
Andy Koeger (B.F.A., film and television, 2016)
Lamia Lazrak (B.F.A., film and television, 2016)
Ieva Lukauskaite (B.F.A., film and television, 2016)
Paula Andrea Sprenger (B.F.A., film and television, 2016)
Whitney Renea Stephenson (B.F.A., film and television, 2016)

Advertising
Kendra Bergman (B.F.A., advertising, 2017)
Timothy Carvalho (M.F.A., advertising, 2017)
Hannah Gilbertson (B.F.A., advertising)
Nick Lamando (B.A., visual communication, 2016)
Mikayla Lapierre (B.F.A., advertising)
Isabel Taborga (B.F.A., advertising, 2017)
Brian Alexander Madert (B.F.A., advertising)
Bryson Schmidt (B.F.A., advertising, 2017)
Nick Taormina (B.F.A., advertising)
Yugendu Vyas (B.F.A., advertising, 2017)

Publishing and Print Media
Keeley Gribb (M.F.A., graphic design, 2016)
Shann Larsson (B.F.A., graphic design, 2016)
Sharon Martie (B.F.A., graphic design, 2016)
Alanna Minor (B.F.A., graphic design, 2017)
Carmen Rodriguez Lo (B.F.A., graphic design, 2017)

Interface and User Experience
Dipali Bajaj (B.F.A., user experience design)
Zhaolin Cai (B.F.A., user experience design)
Nolan Canady (B.F.A., user experience design)
Gonzalo Gelso (B.F.A., graphic design)
Je Sun Hwang (M.F.A., service design)
Hwang Hah Jeong (B.F.A., user experience design)
Yuri Jai Johnson (B.F.A., computer arts, 2004)
In Won Jong (M.F.A., interactive design/game development, 2017)
Joe Kennedy (B.F.A., user experience design)
Jenn Lee (B.F.A., user experience design)
Cody Reppert (B.F.A., user experience design)
Andrew Sibert (B.F.A., user experience design)
James Simmons (B.F.A., user experience design)
Fernando Zeledon (B.F.A., industrial design)

Apps
Gentry Baird (B.F.A., graphic design)

Typography
Jenna Sullivan (B.F.A., graphic design, 2017)
Katherine Weaver (M.A., visual effects)

Posters
India Torrez (B.F.A., graphic design, 2017)

"I know a small person shouldn't hope for any attention," says Ka Foon Chau. "They should fulfill themselves, be the best they can be, and others will see your importance. There's no need to beg for any attention." This small, important scene, from the documentary "$30 to Antarctica," finds Dr. Chau reading from a personal diary composed during her exacting girlhood.

Concise in length and epic in breadth, the film charts the true story of how an impoverished child in Hong Kong became a nephrologist and transplant activist and eventually fulfilled a lifelong dream of travelling to Antarctica. Utilizing interviews with Dr. Chau's friends, husband, and former high school teacher, the film demonstrates how a seemingly token kindness lead to empowering self-belief, and how a commitment to learning and helping others can create transformative change in the lives of many. The film is a work of clear-eyed inspiration and natural beauty. It also reveals, in its end credits, that director Joey Chu (B.F.A., film and television, 2017) is Dr. Chau's daughter.

SCAD: How did "$30 to Antarctica" evolve?

JOEY CHU: I filmed the ending first, the trip to Antarctica. We were in a two-person kayak, my mother in front, and I put a GoPro between us, then filmed her walking on the beach of Deception Island. I had that footage, and mentioned to my mother that I'd develop it into a documentary someday. I told her it'd be powerful for people to see her story on film. She's been interviewed on TV many times for her work as a doctor, so being in front of a camera isn't a strange thing for her. The scene where she's reading from her diary she wrote while she was struggling as a kid, I was behind the camera with my DP Dumaine Babcock (B.F.A., film and television, 2017) and my mother started tearing up. I was crying but trying not to make a sound.

The fact that the subject of the film is my mother isn't really important to the film. If she wasn't my mother and I only learned about her and her incredible story, I would still want to make a film about her. Some people told me to make it more about her being my mother, some said not to mention it at all. Mentioning at the end credits felt like the right thing to do.

SCAD: What was your experience like as a SCAD student making this film?

CHU: Being at SCAD means being surrounded by passionate people and learning to collaborate. It's inspiring because it makes you want to work hard and see how your passions can connect. When I made "$30 to Antarctica" the entire crew were my friends. My professors Alexander Newton and Lubomir Kocka were incredibly helpful. They took extra steps to help the film fulfill its potential. And they're there for me now, after graduation, as resources.

SCAD: What's next for "$30 to Antarctica"?

CHU: This week it's going to screen at the I Imagine Film Festival in New York City. It just won Best Short Documentary at the Around International Film Festival Amsterdam monthly competition. I finished the film in August, and the deadline for the Savannah Film Festival had already passed, so I plan to submit it for the 2018 SAVFF. I look forward to bringing it back to Savannah.

Savannah College of Art and Design is pleased to announce James P. Cramer has joined the faculty of the architecture department as distinguished professor. In the fall 2017 academic quarter, Cramer will co-teach a course within the architecture curriculum alongside Savannah architect and president of AIA Georgia, SCAD professor Neil Dawson.
 
Cramer, renowned for his contributions to the A/E/C industry over the past four decades, is highly acclaimed in the field of architecture and design as an educator, futurist and business adviser. He is the co-founder of Design Futures Council and DesignIntelligence, and CEO-emeritus of the Greenway Group. Formerly Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects, Cramer's extensive career in architecture, design and consulting has been recognized by honorifics including the Richard Upjohn Fellow of the AIA, and Fellow of the International Leadership Forum in La Jolla, California.

Dawson has contributed to the planning, design and construction of numerous award-winning projects throughout coastal Georgia and the southeast including the Lucas Theatre, the SCAD Museum of Art, and the urban mixed-use site News Place, part of the Ellis Square renewal project in Savannah. Dawson's work has been honored with awards from the Historic Savannah Foundation, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Savannah Chapter of the AIA. His work has been published in Metropolitan Home, The New York Times and Good Housekeeping. He is the principal of LS3P Dawson Architects in Savannah and current president of AIA Georgia.

Cramer and Dawson's graduate-level course, How Firms Succeed: A Masterclass in Design Leadership and Management, provides students with an in-depth examination of current design firm leadership and management practices. The course is devoted to broadening students' awareness of the latest shifts and trends in design practice, in preparation for competitive leadership opportunities in the field. Students will be exposed to the mechanisms of contemporary business models, gain confidence in making management and entrepreneurial decisions and learn how to assess the health of a design practice through up-to-date performance metrics.
 
SCAD welcomes James P. Cramer to its faculty, and to an architecture department where students develop the necessary expertise to design buildings that bring value to the world.

The venerable publishing house Assouline has released "SCAD: The Architecture of a University" by contributing authors Paula Wallace, Margaret Russell and Chuck Chewning. The 360-page volume, replete with 40 detailed narratives and 200 sublime photographs, highlights the university's most inspired and inspiring spaces. In this excerpt from the foreword, President and Founder Paula Wallace leads readers from the university's flagship building, Poetter Hall, to the panoply of SCAD architectural marvels around Savannah, and in Atlanta, Hong Kong and Lacoste.

By 1981, two years after we'd first cleaned its windows, the Armory was full. One building became two, then four, then ten, then twenty—the university flowered across the city like wisteria across a trellis. By the turn of the twenty-first century, the university had transformed old schoolhouses into thriving homes for fashion, fibers, foundation studies, and more. A bed and breakfast became the first SCAD dormitory. Savannah's first electric power station became the home of the university's department of film and television. The oldest extant railroad depot complex in North America is now the SCAD Museum of Art, recipient of the American Institute of Architects National Honor Award for Architecture. An empty downtown department store was rehabilitated into a world-class university library, honored by the American Library Association and by the International Interior Design Association. A decaying art deco playhouse is now home to the university's Savannah Film Festival. One of Savannah's oldest public high schools is now home to the SCAD School of Liberal Arts. The old and dying city was old, but it wasn't dying—it was just waiting for new life to fill its sidewalks and buildings. SCAD helped make that happen. Today, Savannah is a historical city with an inventive spirit and sparkling, bright future.
 
SCAD soon turned to other communities across the globe, offering students more opportunities to transform themselves and their world through art and design. In Atlanta, a former television studio is now home to the SCAD Digital Media Center, and one of the most beloved historic residences in all of Midtown is now home to the SCAD Atlanta Writing Center. In France, a former bakery has become the SCAD Lacoste library, while a decrepit farmhouse dating to the Middle Ages is now the best student housing in all of higher education. In the Sham Shui Po district of Asia's World City, a handsome midcentury magistracy is now home to the vibrant SCAD Hong Kong.
 
Out of more than one hundred SCAD properties around the world, fewer than ten have been newly built.
 
The world has taken note. In Savannah, it's not unusual to see wedding parties and families having their photographs taken around SCAD buildings, as often happens on the steps of Lai Wa Hall, a former residence now housing the executive administration. Anthropologie, J.Crew, and other fashion retailers have photographed in SCAD buildings. The brilliant interiors and memorable façades of SCAD can be seen in the occasional film, more of which are being produced in Georgia every year. The university's long history of adaptive new use has earned top awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, UNESCO, and others.

SCAD commissions original work from students and alumni for classrooms and offices, ensuring that students of art history, illustration, painting, and sculpture see their professions manifested within the walls of the university. SCAD has shaped the practice of architecture, yes, but architecture also has shaped SCAD.
 
The university's buildings radiantly depict to our students how resources can be reimagined and repurposed. Newer is not always better, as every generation—including millennials—must learn. In truth, the greenest building is the one that's already built.
 
As the university nears its fortieth anniversary, we have chosen forty SCAD buildings from around the world to feature in "SCAD: The Architecture of a University." It wasn't easy leaving out dozens of glorious properties, but to include any more would have required a building permit just to pick up the book. An eclectic mélange of historic and modern structures, the buildings are arranged by the date on which they were first inhabited by the university—as opposed to the date of original construction—beginning with Poetter Hall and moving to the present. In the latter half of the book, we've highlighted forty milestone moments from the university's past. These images and accounts, I hope, provide some sense of the history and beauty SCAD students are fortunate to call their own.

Supremely savvy style site Fashionista is currently assembling their annual list of the world's top fashion schools. If you're a SCAD alumnus with a degree in fashion, take a moment to make your voice heard. And if you're here familiarizing yourself with what the SCAD School of Fashion has to offer, read on.

At the undergraduate and graduate level, SCAD fashion students prepare to lead the ever-evolving world of fashion through a rigorous curriculum anchored by creative thinking and dynamic technology. Led by Michael Fink, dean for School of Fashion, and guided by professors with extensive industry experience, students explore fashion from the conceptual to the commercial, merging technical dexterity with personal vision to develop original fashion collections.
 
The SCAD School of Fashion offers degrees in accessory design, fashion, fashion marketing and management, and luxury and fashion management. SCAD offers related minors in menswear, fashion photography, fashion journalism, jewelry, fragrance marketing and management and more, allowing students to refine their focus and build expertise in their disciplines.
 
At SCAD, students converse with critics, designers, buyers and thought leaders like Imran Amed, Norma Kamali, Robin Givhan, Brandon Maxwell and Carolina Herrera who visit SCAD's global campuses to share their experience and insight. Each year, the Style Lab Mentor program affords SCAD fashion students the opportunity to interact one-on-one with established designers like Zac Posen, Catherine Malandrino, Stephen Burrows, Rachel Roy, Christian Siriano and Rafé Totengco. Students liaise with top industry professionals during signature events SCADstyle and SCAD FASHWKND, and the many unique workshops and critiques that bring fashion elite to the university.
 
In May 2017, at the inaugural SCAD FASHWKND, 43 students debuted their collections at a runway show in Savannah, held in the courtyard of the SCAD Museum of Art, featuring a recent installation by the internationally renowned Carlos Cruz-Diez. In Atlanta, the collections were displayed in tableaux vivants throughout the third floor of the university's main building. Both SCAD FASHWKND events featured a Shop The Runway retail component, where SCAD alumni shared and sold their designs.
 
In 2017, SCAD students won 20 YMA Fashion Scholarships, more than any other university in the history of the competition. SCAD graduates have won the Supima Design Competition for two consecutive years: In 2016 womenswear designer Jeffrey Taylor (B.F.A., fashion, 2016) earned the $10,000 grand prize in the 9th annual Supima Design Competition. He was invited to show his collection at Lincoln Center during NYFW, and later showed his collection during Paris Fashion Week. In 2015 SCAD alumna Kate McKenna-Schliep (B.F.A., fashion, 2015) won the Supima competition and showed her collection during Paris Fashion Week.
 
In Atlanta, SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film hosts exhibitions of work by world-renowned designers like Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera, as well as historic compendiums including “Embellished: Adornment Through the Ages” and “Shoes: Pleasure and Pain.” To elucidate the themes of each exhibition, SCAD commissions complementary films that are screened in the adjacent SCAD FASH Film Salon. Students can further their studies through the SCAD FASH permanent collection, an archive of more than 1,000 museum quality garments from designers like Oscar de la Renta, Coco Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, Vera Wang, and Givenchy.

Visit SCAD to learn more about the university's incomparable contributions to the world of fashion.

Each year, President Paula Wallace awards deserving SCAD professors with Presidential Fellowships for Faculty Development to facilitate specific research projects. The program supplements opportunities for travel, conference support, sabbatical grants and professional advancement. SCAD spoke with Angela Brandt, general education professor, about her Summer 2017 Presidential Fellowship experience in passionate pursuit of poetry.

SCAD: Your SCAD Presidential Fellowship was awarded for the participation in a one-week writing workshop at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, working directly with poet Marie Howe. Why did you want to work with her?

ANGELA BRANDT: If artists and writers are lucky, they find one true teacher in life. If they’re really lucky, they find a few. Not all great writers are great teachers, yet Marie Howe is both. I’ve admired her work immensely and always thought I’d jump at the chance to sit in her workshop should the chance arise. It’s a hard spot to get, as her classes fill with professional writers very quickly. Marie is a poet who moves gracefully from biographical narratives to more metaphysical abstractions. There’s a breadth of possibilities in her work that’s unique. That’s a real interest for me in terms of my own work.

SCAD: Tell us about your poems and the theme of your collection.

BRANDT: This collection of poems has been in the making over many years, though the majority of the poems have come into being in just the last few. As I think happens to writers a bit later in life, my currents and compass of interests have shifted. The poems reflect that. I’m primarily a narrative poet whose poems tend to rest on the power of the stark image, the suggestion of story, and a kind of documentary of daily life in places real and imagined. My book, “A Color of Snow and Clouds,” was recently chosen among the semi-finalists for the Lexi Rudnitsky First Book Prize in Poetry sponsored by Persea Books. It was also chosen for short-listing at the prestigious Copper Canyon Press, so I feel encouraged. It’s getting close.

SCAD: How will the fellowship influence your work as an educator at SCAD?

BRANDT: Attending a workshop as a professor of writing puts me on the other side of the desk, a humbling and useful position to return to. It’s good to dive back into that world to remember how vital vulnerability is to the act of writing and revision. Receiving critiques allows constructive criticism to come into play in a way that simply discussing pedagogy in an academic setting cannot.

SCAD: How will SCAD students benefit from your fellowship experience?

BRANDT: Good teachers remain good students all of their lives. Whenever I am lucky enough to engage fully as a student again, I come out revitalized and reeducated in teaching styles and in-class writing techniques, while gaining new insight into my own work as a writer. I feel more connected to the vitality and alchemy that’s so important to leading good workshops, and feel a bit closer to being a true teacher to each of my students.