Elaine Ostroff Wins British Medal for Distinguished Services to International Design Education

The 2004 Sir Misha Black Medal was presented to Ostroff at a Ceremony at the Royal College of Art on March 16 in London.

In 1961 Elaine Ostroff founded the Looking Glass Theatre in Providence Rhode Island. Her work with children led to the transforming of institutional education environments with simple props developed with industrial designers from Rhode Island School of Design. Later she was instrumental in the establishment of a multi-disciplinary graduate programme at the Massachusetts College of Art. The programme emphasised the role of designers and artists in creating community-based projects for disabled people.

In 1978 she co-founded the Adaptive Environments Centre in Boston Massachusetts. It was the first non-profit organisation in the USA that addressed both teaching design skills to non-designers and the value of working with users to make inclusive environments. Her efforts supported disabled consumers and the movement for civil rights in the USA, culminating in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Another result has been the Universal Design Handbook, co-edited by Ms Ostroff and published by McGraw-Hill in 2001. Considered the encyclopedia of Universal Design, the handbook features authors from every continent.

In 1992, Ostroff set up the Universal Design Education Project, working with faculty from 25 colleges and universities across the USA. She has helped introduce similar schemes in Europe and Asia. She works closely with the American Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) to encourage the introduction of Universal Design into the teaching of architecture. The ACSA acknowledged this work with an honorary award in 2003.

The Global Universal Design Educators Network that she established in 1998 has over 300 members worldwide. She edits a website (www.udeducation.org) for design educators which ensures that educators can share their social justice values in the service of a more equitable society.

Mary Mullin, Chairman, of the Sir Misha Black Memorial Medal Committee added:

"Elaine Ostroff has been a persuasive influence on design education at all levels and an indefatigable champion of design that respects the needs and capabilities of older and disabled people, reflecting their aspirations and potential. Importantly it is teaching those who legislate, finance, commission and produce, that thoughtful design can create a more inclusive and better world."

For more information please contact:
Graça Tavares de Almeida,
Assistant Registrar,
Royal College of Art
Tel: 020 7590 4113/4134,
fax: 020 7590 4500
e-mail graca.almeida@rca.ac.uk

Background Note
The Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education was instituted in 1978 as a memorial to Sir Misha Black, designer and teacher, following his death in 1977.

Four bodies with whom Sir Misha Black was closely associated set it up - the Royal College of Art, the Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry of the RSA, The Design and Industries Association and The Chartered Society of Designers. In 1996 The Royal Academy of Engineering joined in recognition of the growth of design studies in engineering universities.

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