Makers and Shakers

Judit Török

Faculty Success

Director of the Institute’s Center for Teaching and Learning

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Like our relentlessly creative students, Pratt faculty members are always looking for new ways to push the envelope and advance their practice.

Judit Török, Director of the Institute’s Center for Teaching and Learning, emphasizes the importance of fostering innovation and collaboration among colleagues. “The Center offers a welcoming, interdisciplinary space where faculty inspire and learn from each other,” she explains. “We provide them with resources to advance their efforts in the classroom and studio and pursue projects related to their creative practice—from exploring ethical uses for AI to incorporating sustainable design into their design courses.”

The Center’s initiatives include the CTL Faculty Fellowships, which help advance recipients’ pedagogical practices by providing support for a yearlong project. For example, a recent fellow designed a cross-disciplinary graduate course centered on Venice’s art, cultural collections, and memory institutions. The Center also runs a Summer Playground Institute, where instructors reimagine their classrooms as liminal spaces where conventional rules are suspended in favor of collaborative, blue-sky thinking. “Investments in the Center powers professional development  like these, which are rare at art and design schools,” says Judit. “World Makers will provide resources to support additional fellowship opportunities and hands-on workshops that enable faculty members to forge radically creative solutions.”

Part of Pratt’s reputation comes from an emphasis on having established practitioners serve as faculty members.

Byron Lars, Jane B. Nord Professor of Fashion Design
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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
A woman in a pink shirt is sitting at a table in a laboratory filled with various equipment. Behind her are metal racks with numerous containers. She has her arms resting on the table, which has a green basket, glasses, and a weighing scale. The setting is well-lit, showcasing the organized workspace.

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
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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.

Jane Nord, Art and Design Certificate ’45; Former Professor

Endowing Excellence

Jane B. Nord Professor of Fashion Design Byron Lars brings his years of professional experience to the classroom.

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Seaweed Solution

Professor Cindie Kehlet, AquaSteady Research Hub Lead, shows how Pratt “shapes essential solutions for our planet’s future needs.”

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Funding Innovation

IDC Foundation President Raymond Savino speaks to the interdisciplinary innovations happening at Pratt’s Research Yard.

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