The LSU College of Art & Design, Louisiana’s foremost school for the fine arts, art history and the design professions, has had yet another award-winning year in 2011.

One of the university’s 10 senior colleges, the College of Art & Design is a community in which faculty and students often work collaboratively on projects to share ideas across disciplines. And with many students, faculty and alumni of the college winning awards this year from organizations including the Louisiana Board of Regents, the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Interior Design Excellence Awards, its programs have been recognized as some of the best in the nation.

“Our mission includes educating a diverse population in a very special learning community,” said Ken Carpenter, interim dean of the college. “This experience produces artists, designers and scholars whose creativity contributes in a multitude of remarkable ways to a better society.”

While the college’s roots trace back as far as 1933, it has continued to evolve. Currently, various renovation projects are underway to improve the college’s many facilities. These include recently completed and ongoing capital improvements in the Art Building and Atkinson Hall, which houses the School of Architecture, as well as a $12-plus million complete renovation of the Studio Arts Buildings – formerly the Engineering Shops – scheduled to be complete by 2015.

read more of this article spotlighting the College of Art & Design and its units on the LSU Gold site