Byron Lars is a renowned fashion designer whose clients have included Michelle Obama, Angela Bassett, and Mattel. His career expanded into teaching when he was named Pratt’s Jane B. Nord Professor of Fashion Design. “Part of Pratt’s reputation comes from an emphasis on having established practitioners serve as faculty members,” he explains. “Even though I hadn’t taught before, the endowed chair created an opportunity to apply my years of professional and business experience in ways that would benefit young designers. I fell in love with being in the classroom almost immediately.”
Established through the generosity of alumna Jane Nord, the rotating endowed professorship also gives students the opportunity to meet and learn from role models and potential mentors. “I recently had Elena Velez come speak to my students. She’s a young designer who’s already accomplished amazing things—and she’s still close enough to the students’ age that they can relate to her on a personal level,” Byron notes. “Students really appreciate it when you meet them where they are; it’s also gratifying to see them get so enthusiastic about aspects of the business that I may have taken for granted, like the various steps that go into launching a fashion line.”
Byron is deeply grateful for the opportunity to help shape emerging designers while collaborating with and learning from his Pratt colleagues. “It’s amazing to think that Jane, who attended Pratt in the 1940s, has created this amazing resource that will benefit Pratt students and faculty far into the future,” says Byron. “Having additional endowed chairs at Pratt would make a tremendously positive impact.”
Donor generosity shows the world how Pratt is a place that shapes essential solutions for our planet’s future needs.
Cindie Kehlet, Professor, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences; AquaSteady Research Hub Lead in the Center for Environmental Research
Pratt is a dynamic catalyst for the interdisciplinary innovations that the IDC Foundation supports and that fuel the Research Yard’s continued evolution, momentum, and leadership.
Raymond Savino, President, IDC Foundation
World Makers will provide resources to support additional fellowship opportunities and hands-on workshops that enable faculty members to forge radically creative solutions.
Judit Török, Director of the Institute’s Center for Teaching and Learning
Where Artistry and Philanthropy Meet
Jane Nord, Art and Design Certificate ’45; Former Professor
Esteemed alumna and former faculty member Jane Nord ’45 loves seeing a work come to life, from a draft in a sketchbook to a fully designed dress. Nord, a visionary philanthropist who supports charitable and educational causes in her native Ohio and beyond, earned her costume design certificate at Pratt and went on to teach color theory and other classes at the Institute. Today, she continues to invest in the creativity of current and future students.
She established the Jane B. Nord Professor of Fashion Design to cultivate the next generation of designers by supporting Pratt’s fashion faculty. “With this endowed professorship, I am pleased that my valuable experience at Pratt and my commitment to art education offers new opportunities to emerging academic leaders in the field,” says Nord. The $3.5 million investment is a rotating position for visionary fashion educators and celebrates a creative educator who is active in the greater world of fashion and connects Pratt students to its professional leaders.
The professorship is part of the Nord family’s enduring and longtime support of the Institute, including the Eric and Jane Nord Family Endowed Internship Fund, a $5 million endowment created by the Nord family in 2024.