Rosanne Somerson
Advisory Art Director, Dadu Children s Museum @Qatar Museums
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WORK HISTORY
Advisory Art Director, Dadu Children s Museum @Qatar Museums
EDUCATION
Rhode Island School of Design
BFA, Industrial Design/ Furniture Design
Bryant University
Honorary Doctorate of Organizational Leadership, Design and Strategy
SKILLS
ABOUT ROSANNE SOMERSON
An accomplished designer, educator, consultant, strategist and academic leader, RISD President Emerita Rosanne Somerson is an advocate for design and the arts, as well as for the unique impact of design to instigate social and cultural change. A frequent design juror, lecturer, and pod-caster, Somerson has used design methodology to oversea institutional and organizational change. As RISD’s 17th president she focused on access to art and design education for students of all economic backgrounds, raising the highest amounts of financial aid in the College’s cumulative history, dramatically increasing student support. Additionally, she led the development of a transformative institutional social equity and inclusion plan, overseeing development of a genuinely rich learning environment full of diverse experiences, viewpoints and talents. Somerson created a research program to encourage artists and designers to develop sound advancements that combat climate change and foster sustainability practices. Somerson has successfully led the creation of several strategic plans, for institutions and international authorities. She is also a practitioner with over four decades of experience directing her own consulting practice and design studio. Her studio work I included in many museum permanent collections as well as private and corporate collections.Somerson was an undergraduate student at RISD in the 1970s. In 1985 she returned to campus to teach furniture design, and in 1995 became a founder and the first leader of RISD’s new Furniture Design department, helping to establish its strong reputation globally. After subsequently serving in several academic leadership roles on an interim basis, Somerson emerged as the top candidate in two separate international searches, which led to her appointment as provost in 2012 and then president in 2015. An interview with Somerson is included in the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art Oral History Project and she has earned fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts along with the James Renwick Alliance Distinguished Crafts Educator Award and a 2019 Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts. She has lectured and exhibited across the globe, co-edited the book \"The Art of Critical Making\", and has helped to launch the careers of many contemporary designers
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