Dear members of the NYSID community,

In the summer of this year, our country faced a long-overdue reckoning concerning race in America. I wrote to you at that time to share with you my feelings about representation in our community and in the Interior Design profession, and I wanted to send you an update on our efforts to right a number of historical wrongs from within our spheres of influence.

First, I want to tell you about three initiatives that are already underway:

1. Starting in 2020, I named Juneteenth an official NYSID holiday. Administrative offices will be closed on this day, and we will encourage our community to use this time to form a “day of action” that makes the world a safer, more equitable place.

2. We formed a Presidential Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Led by three co-chairs (Board of Trustees member Cheryl Durst, instructor Leyden Lewis, and Registrar Jennifer Melendez), and staffed by representatives from across the college community, the Commission’s intent is three-fold: (1) initiate dialogue and solicit feedback from the various constituencies at NYSID; (2) identify and recommend instruments to measure and assess issues of race and diversity in order to craft a more inclusive college; and (3) develop actionable strategies to strengthen or improve NYSID’s environment in terms of diversity, inclusion, equity, and thoughtful civil dialogue.

3. In late 2019, the Office of Academic Affairs, as part of its strategic planning efforts, identified diversity as a fundamental value of the NYSID curricula across all programs. The NYSID Library created a robust guide and collection of resources on Diversity/Equity/Inclusion for students and faculty, available to all on the library website. A Diversity Steering Committee composed of members of the faculty was formed and charged with creating a roadmap for the faculty as it addresses diversity, equity, and inclusion in the curriculum, with a particular goal of acknowledging the historical and contemporary work of designers from underrepresented communities. The steering committee finished its work and presented its final guidance to the faculty in early December. Next steps, including coordinating with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission, will follow throughout 2021.

I’m pleased to report that the Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been meeting regularly and we expect to be able to announce more information in January of 2021. For full transparency, we are in the process of building a webpage to house information on both the findings and recommendations from the Commission, and to report on the progress the college is making in implementing those recommendations. We take this work very seriously, and I’m proud of the initial efforts of this dedicated group of Trustees, staff, faculty, and students.

One issue we knew we faced is the threshold to entry for students from historically underrepresented populations. I’m very pleased to announce that the New York School of Interior Design Board of Trustees, this past Summer, authorized seed funding for a NYSID Diversity Scholarship. This fund supports talented students who are traditionally and historically underrepresented in interior design programs and the profession at large. Our industry partners at Holland & Sherry have generously contributed an additional gift to this scholarship, creating a named giving opportunity within the Diversity Scholarship Fund, and we are in the process of securing support from other industry partners and individuals. In addition to scholarships for our graduate and undergraduate students, the NYSID Diversity Scholarship Fund is being used to provide scholarships to students of diverse backgrounds in our Pre-College program, building a stronger gateway to the interior design profession for young people who might otherwise not consider design as a career.

These steps are just the beginning of our journey, and we have far to go together, but I am proud of the myriad ways our community has come together to address these historical disparities. If you have questions or thoughts about our actions or progress, I encourage you to reach out to me.

Sincerely,
David Sprouls