August 16, 2023
Great Teacher Award Recipients Honored as ArtCenter College of Design Celebrates Summer 2023 Graduating Class of Artists and Innovators
Illustrator and Honoree Adam Dix to Deliver Commencement Address
First-ever, Fully Online Graduate Degrees to be Presented to 17 Students
On Saturday, April 19, ArtCenter College of Design will celebrate 139 graduates at a ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center Grand Ballroom, including 17 graduates of the college’s two new, fully-online master’s degree programs.
Approximately 5,000 people are expected to attend various Graduation activities taking place throughout the week. ArtCenter President Karen Hofmann will preside over the ceremony and confer the degrees. The Great Teacher Award will be presented to graphic designer Miles Mazzie and character designer Adam Dix, the latter of whom will deliver a commencement address to the audience of families, friends, faculty, staff, College Trustees and special guests.
For the first time in ArtCenter history, the College will confer Master of Design (MDes) degrees for a fully online program completed in just one year. Ideal for students with work and family commitments or for those looking to shift gears professionally, ArtCenter’s new MDes programs allow graduate students an opportunity to gain competitive skills and build a design portfolio without the geographic barriers and time-based limitations of a traditional degree. During the summer commencement ceremony, ten students will be awarded a Master of Design in Brand Design and Strategy and seven students will be awarded a Master of Design in Interaction Design.
“I’m very happy to be celebrating our incredible students and especially our first class of graduates from our Master of Design degree programs at this graduation,” said Karen Hofmann, president and chief executive officer at ArtCenter College of Design. “This new program is an exciting realization of our goal to make earning an ArtCenter degree more affordable and accessible to mid-career professionals.”
“Congratulations also to our Great Teacher Award recipients Adam and Miles for the inspiration and expert guidance they provide to our students in the classroom,” continued Hofmann. “Both of them promote intellectual and creative development, while connecting real-world perspectives and human values to art and design.”
Each year, ArtCenter students recognize great teachers for their significant and life-changing contributions to learning. ArtCenter faculty are accomplished artists and designers who teach and influence the next generation of art and design leaders to pursue excellence and make a positive impact on the world. This year, following a yearlong process of nominations, a student committee selected one part-time and one full-time instructor to be honored.
Full-time Faculty Great Teacher Award honoree Mazzie was consistently described as going the extra mile by student nominators. His students noted the professional insights he brought into the classroom, the patience he exhibited while working with students, and the compassion he showed by challenging students while encouraging them to prioritize their health and wellbeing. Students also praised the sense of calm and good humor he brought to the classroom. Regardless of the topic in the course syllabus, Mazzie instilled in his students an appreciation for learning as a lifelong process, and shared his belief that all work—both the successes and the failures—is worthy, valuable and beautiful.
Mazzie, who is unable to accept the award in person, wrote: “Sometimes (frequently actually) I note to myself how lucky I am to be paid to do the professional work that I enjoy so much. I am allowed to make a mess (in my workspace), play with typography and pictures and all of this is actually supported and enjoyed. I feel similarly about teaching at ArtCenter. It’s wonderful and rewarding to be part of a community of makers, tinkerers and visionaries who can do things that leave me dazzled each week.”
Part-time Faculty Great Teacher Award honoree Dix is a character designer and illustrator who was born in the United States and raised in Chile. He attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for college. Early in his career, Dix worked in San Francisco as a designer for Disney Interactive where he participated in creating mobile games. Later, he moved to Los Angeles to work in animation at Disney TV on Sofia the First , Elena of Avalor and DuckTales. He then moved to DreamWorks TV to work as a character designer on The Boss Baby: Back in Business . He has worked at Cartoon Network (Victor and Valentino), Nickelodeon (The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and at Warner Bros (DC Superhero Girls).
Students describe Dix as an engaging and caring mentor, and a positive source of energy well beyond the classroom. Nominators praised him for being welcoming, patient and personable. Beyond the technical skills and industry perspectives that he brings to the classroom, students took note of his ability to teach other important lessons like individual style, creative inspiration, career trajectory, compromise, personal responsibility, empathy, understanding and the value of engaging with each other as teammates and not as competitors. This human-centered approach to his teaching resulted in an environment where students felt comfortable to take risks and appreciate strengths and weaknesses in each other. Because of his eagerness to build students’ professional networks, one student even stated that Dix is the reason why they got their first industry job before graduation.
Lucas Thin, an Interaction Design major from Singapore, will receive the Student Leadership Award (SLA) during the graduation ceremony. The SLA is presented each term and fulfills ArtCenter’s vision of educating artists and designers who are not only leaders within their professional fields, but leaders in their communities. Based on recommendations from faculty, staff and students, this award recognizes a student who has provided leadership through participation in ArtCenter’s campus life, community outreach, student organizations and department initiatives.
The Summer 2023 class Valedictorian is Otto Martin Moreno, a Fine Art major from Mexico City.
Following the graduation ceremony on Saturday afternoon, Grad Show opens both virtually and in person at the Pasadena Convention Center’s Exhibit Hall B, providing friends, family and people from across Greater Los Angeles a chance to view the extraordinary work of ArtCenter’s newly minted grads. Graduating students have opportunities to connect with potential employers by way of a virtual career fair platform and in person at Grad Show recruitment events. Nike, Google and DreamWorks are among the many companies with representatives in attendance to meet emerging talent.
August 19 | 10 a.m. through 12 p.m.
Summer 2023 Graduation Ceremony
Pasadena Convention Center Grand Ballroom
300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91101
Ticketed event for friends, family, faculty and staff to celebrate the commencement of our graduating class.
August 19 | Noon through 5 p.m.
ArtCenter Grad Show
Pasadena Convention Center | Exhibit Hall B
300 E. Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91101
FREE and open to the public, friends and families.
No RSVP required.
To view all Summer 2023 Graduation Activities, view this event page.
To view the College’s virtual Grad Show representing the achievements of the Class of 2023, please visit gradshow.artcenter.edu/summer-2023.
About ArtCenter: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and 10 graduate degrees in a variety of industrial design disciplines as well as in a range of visual and applied arts. In addition to its top-ranked academic programs, the College serves members of the Greater Los Angeles region through a highly regarded series of year-round extension programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status in recognition of its commitment to social impact design through Designmatters. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.
Contact:
Teri Bond
Acting Co-VP, Marketing and Communications
ArtCenter College of Design
teri.bond@artcenter.edu
626 396-2385
