05/09/22

AMES, Iowa — Following a national search, Paul Bruski will become the next chair of the Iowa State University Department of Graphic Design.

Bruski, an associate professor and the Dorothy Maitland Miller Professor in Graphic Design, has served as interim chair of the department since November 2019. His five-year, renewable appointment will begin July 1. He will continue to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in graphic design while overseeing the day-to-day operations of the department.

“Over the past 2 ½ years, Paul has proven himself an effective administrator and leader, navigating the challenges of the pandemic to help the department provide the high-quality educational experience students deserve and minimize the impacts on faculty career progression,” said College of Design Dean Luis Rico-Gutierrez.

“He is a strong advocate for graphic design students and faculty while serving as a collaborative colleague within the College of Design.”

Bruski joined the Iowa State graphic design faculty as an assistant professor in 2005. He was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2011. He was awarded the Dorothy Maitland Miller Professorship in Graphic Design in 2021. He served as the department’s director of graduate education from January 2014–August 2021 and was the Graphic Design Student Association’s faculty advisor from 2006–2014.

Bruski has taught graduate seminars and studios at all levels of the undergraduate graphic design program as well as courses in multimedia design, narrative and motion graphics, information visualization, explorative mapping and advanced typography. He has also led field studies to New York City, San Francisco and Europe.

He authored an essay on the shifting history of the yellow Gadsden flag published by The Conversation after the January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which has garnered 575,000 reads to date. He is the editor of What’s on Tap? The Current State of Beer Culture, a collection of essays on beer history, authenticity, identity and place — including his own essay on the branded connection between beer and place titled “Drinking Place” — forthcoming from McFarland Inc., Publishers in 2023.

Prior to joining ISU, Bruski was an adjunct instructor at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota, and had been an associate designer at the Nancekivell Group in the Twin Cities.

He received a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design with a communication design emphasis from the College of Visual Arts in 1996 and master of fine arts with an interaction design emphasis from the University of Minnesota in 2005. He is a member of the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association.

Contacts

Luis Rico-Gutierrez, Design Administration, 515-294-7427
Paul Bruski, Graphic Design, 515-294-5635 bruski@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, 515-294-9289, hsauer@iastate.edu

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