MAKING IT PERSONAL
One of the most powerful and controversial effects that woman educators have had on the discipline overall is the emergence of a type of work that is more personal. This is directly derived from elements of the feminist movement when many educators gravitated toward subjective interpretation, encouraging diversity and multiple perspectives. While definitely not an inherent “feminine” approach, there’s a method embraced by many of these women that focuses on the development of the individual, and ensuring that students can append meaning to their work.

“Design thinking evolved when women became more prominent as design educators,” says Tenazas. She points to a comment made by the late Scott Makela who noted the influence of female educators like Greiman, McCoy, and de Bretteville as the change factor for design in the mid-’80s. “This more personal work would not have happened if more teachers were male. Scott said that he saw a whole generation of students, even male students, where the thinking shifted because it’s no longer about professional practice alone but personal voice and personal history,” Tenazas adds.

“I always try to approach each student as an individual and help each cultivate his or her unique capabilities as they acquire fundamental knowledge and skill sets,” says McCoy. “I also encourage each student to develop his or her own voice—to learn to articulate their thoughts about design and to participate in discussions equally with others.”

“To encourage students to make work that means something requires more than amplifying opportunities for self-expression, and this is what I personally feel needs to happen—and is happening —at many schools,” says Helfand, a Yale professor. “Students need a skill fluency as much as they do many other things.”

This cultivation of life skills alongside design skills is also illustrated by the example these women set for their students. There are varied ways of incorporating their roles as designers into their roles in the world, and many of them have found ways to seamlessly integrate their personal lives into their practice. An exceptional number work with their husbands; others have found a way, whether through their teaching schedules or in flexible studio environments, to raise families within the context of their career.

“One thing that makes education attractive for these women is piecing together a career, academic life, and the scholarly need of wanting to know more,” says Gonzales Crisp. “Their practices show it, their lifestyles show it, the fact that they have master’s degrees in design shows it.”And beyond the multifaceted approach to their practice, they’re also showing the benefits of design as a basis for an enriched life experience.

“I think that these women are not just concerned with cultivating professionals, but opening up a way for a generation to have wonderful lives,” says Sandhaus. “That’s a huge distinction. They don’t look at the discipline in a narrow way, but the skills they learn as designers can move laterally.”

A CULTURE OF SHARING
Tracing their overlapping tenures at universities and studios and following the lineages of mentors and students, a second level of interaction becomes immediately apparent between these women. A motivation to share experiences has opened up an ongoing dialogue where ideas pass fluidly between them. In this way, new thought evolves and disseminates quickly within the network.

“I didn’t choose them because they were women; they’re people whose work I respect and who are willing to share what they know,” says Davis of the women she works with at other schools. “Many of us have careers that emerged at roughly the same time.”

“It is a network, but it’s not meant to be exclusive,” cautions Gonzalez Crisp. “There are men in that conversation as well. It’s the legacy of seizing the experience that the network came out of.” It’s a sense of camaraderie, but also healthy competition between members, she notes, that pushes them to higher standards.

“I have always felt huge support from my colleagues at other schools, many of them women,” says Helfand. “And for design education to have any substantive future, this is imperative: No one school can change the world. If and when we do it, we will do it as a community of peers.”

In the context of their individual institutions, these women are creating value for their students’ experience; but the relevance of their research and writing apply beyond the classroom walls. It’s the commitment to making their work available—to each other, to the design community—that creates an audience eager to examine change in their own academic pursuits. Those conversations will continue to open doors for the confident voices who ask what’s truly possible for design.