Mitzi Vernon

Mitzi Vernon, IDSA, is dean of the College of Design at the University of Kentucky (UK), where her work includes new strategic planning involving partnerships with the UK Center for Applied Research (CAER). Vernon serves as a member of the CAER Advisory Board and of the six healthcare colleges at UK, with a primary focus on a collaborative medical product design degree program. She’s taking the lead in trying to start ID undergraduate and graduate programs at the university.

Vernon was professor of industrial design at Virginia Tech. Her career interests include the public understanding of science and the pedagogy of form. She was a Creative Mornings Lexington, KY—and one of the inaugural speakers for TEDx Virginia Tech, delivering “Mapping the Invisible. Mitzi Vernon, IDSA, dean of the College of Design at the University of Kentucky, explores the structure of a modern curriculum that invests in collaborative connections—mining the hidden potential across campus. She’ll also address a concept of stackable and flexible curricular units for the student of the future.