Babette Strousse

Dean, Division of Industrial Design

Babette Strousse is the dean of the Division of Industrial Design and former interim chair of the Product Design Department. Prior to assuming her role as interim chair, Strousse taught in multiple departments at ArtCenter and led the INSEAD MBA collaboration for the College for many years, a role in which she provided students with valuable insights into the world of business and enabled them to develop tools and networks for future collaborations. She previously held a faculty position at UCLA, where she taught design, and she also lectured at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

An experienced design practitioner, design operations expert, strategist, researcher and educator, Strousse has a career that has spanned several decades with multiple iterations. Working at the intersection of design and business for much of her career provided her with a passion for educating students for impactful and rewarding careers in design as well as helping them develop leadership and stewardship mindsets.

Before returning to ArtCenter in 2016, Strousse was the global director for footwear operations at Nike. Prior to that, she served as the global director of operations at Nokia Design.. She also held leadership positions at several major LA design consultancies, including Designworks USA, SG Hauser and Associates and Ashcraft Design. In concert with her corporate and consulting work, she was a partner in Smith Strousse consulting, where she designed for such clients as Reebok, Solomon, Avery Dennison, Coke, Elmers, Prismacolor and Burton Medical. As the sole proprietor of Smith Strousse Consulting, she currently focuses on leadership coaching and design strategy for startups.

Strousse received her BA in Architecture and a BID from the Rhode Island School of Design. She was a post-graduate student at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Design. She is a member of Industrial Design Society of America and the Design Management Institute.