Diversity & Inclusion

The mission of the School of Interior Design is to provide students with a broad-based educational foundation for creative problem solving, sensitivity to human behavior in the built environment, and commitment to the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Embedded in these aspirations is the need to shape more diverse and inclusive environments in all aspects of teaching and learning, scholarship and service.

The School of Interior Design values diversity and inclusion and supports LSU’s commitment to “create an inclusive, respectful, intellectually challenging climate that embraces individual difference in race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, spirituality, socio-economic status, disability, family status, experiences, opinions, and ideas.”

During the fall semester 2020, the School of Interior Design is facilitating a focus group with students and faculty to create a Diversity & Inclusion Statement and Action Plan. Please check back soon.

Letter from the Director of the School of Interior Design 06.10.20

LSU OFFICE OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

LSU Diversity & Inclusion Roadmap 2020-2022
LSU Diversity Statement
LSU College of Art & Design Diversity & Inclusion Statement

SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN ACTIVITIES

Spring 2021

Gensler Houston Virtual Presentation for Students | Spring 2021
Racism | Diversity | Inclusion
Gensler Strategies to Fight Racism

ID3753 Interior Design Studio IV | Spring 2021
Racism Untaught TOOLKIT
Provides a framework for identifying, contextualizing, and re-imagining forms of racialized design in the design studio context, and includes course syllabus, access to the digital toolkit and handbook. 

Watch: presentation on design equity by BID candidate Mary Oliver.

DIVERSITY AND DESIGN LECTURES 2021

March 2021
EQUITABLE COMMUNITIES
Kia Weatherspoon, ASID
Determined by Design, Founder + Principal

March 2021
BRANDNU DESIGN, THE HIP HOP ARCHITECT
Michael Ford

April 2021
RACIAL AND SPATIAL JUSTICE
Liz Ogbu
Designer, urbanist, and spatial justice activist

ORGANIZATIONS

American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)
Founded in 1975, ASID is the oldest, largest and only multi-disciplinary professional organization for interior designers, interior design students and the manufacturers and suppliers who support the profession.
Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)
CIDA Future Scan 2019 (Imbalance/Inequality)

Black Interior Designers Network (BID)
The Black Interior Designers Network’s mission is to promote diversity and inclusion within the interior design industry by highlighting designers of color and supporting black designers with business development opportunities.
Mission and Vision

Build Out Alliance
Build Out Alliance promotes and advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community within the building design and construction industry.
Initiatives

Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC)
The mission of The Interior Design Educators Council, Inc. is the advancement of interior design education, scholarship, and service.
IDEC Statement: Black Lives Matter
IDEC Student Video Competition 2019 Diversity

International Interior Design Association (IIDA)
IIDA is the commercial interior design association with global reach supporting design professionals, industry affiliates, educators, students, firms, and their clients through a network of 15,000+ members across 58 countries.
Cultivating a More Diverse Design Profession (02.22.19)

Organization of Black Designers (OBD)
OBD is a national professional organization of interior, industrial, architectural, fashion and graphic designers dedicated to promoting the visibility, empowerment, education and interaction of its membership and the understanding and value that diverse design perspectives contribute to world culture and commerce.
Designer of the Month

Qspace
A platform for research projects by students and professionals working on queerness in the built environment.
Coded Plumbing Project

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION RESOURCES

Hadjiyanni, T. “Decolonizing interior design education.” Journal of Interior Design, vol. 45, no. 2, 2020, pp. 3-9, doi:10.1111/joid.12170.

Martin, Michael. “The Leading LGBTQ+ Milestones in the World of Design.” Architectural Digest, 4 June 2019.

May, B. A. “Lessons in diversity: Origins of interior decoration education in the United States, 1870-1930.” Journal of Interior Design, vol. 42, no. 3, 2016, pp. 5-28, doi:10.1111/joid.12086.

Nieminen, R. “Here’s why the design industry lacks diversity and how it will change.” Commercial Interior Design & Architecture | www.interiorsandsources.com, 3 Feb. 2020.

Tauke, B., and K. Smith. “Marginalized by design.” Journal of Interior Design, vol. 45, no. 1, 2020, pp. 5-12, doi:10.1111/joid.12168.

Travis, J. “An interior of inclusion or the illusion of inclusion.” Journal of Interior Design, vol. 43, no. 3, 2018, pp. 3-7, doi:10.1111/joid.12130.