MIAD Matters – Testimonials
“The level of engagement amongst the community, faculty and students was impressive – and quite frankly – very refreshing. I can tell you this, MIAD is a place that consistently possesses a spirit of sincere investigation. Students will definitely look back on their time at MIAD as special, nurturing and inspiring.”
James Ludwig
VP, Global Design + Engineering, Steelcase Inc.
Visiting creative in the MIAD Creativity Series
“I’ve visited many art and design schools around the world and found an atmosphere and confidence at MIAD that are unique… Students have a clear and well-deserved sense of themselves and their work, and that is a rare thing.”
Mark Rios, FAIA, FASLA
Founding Principal, Rios Clementi Hale Studios, Los Angeles
First visiting creative in the MIAD Creativity Series
“For several years, working with MIAD students has been Fiskars secret weapon.”
Paul Tonnesen
President, Fiskars Americas
MIAD Board of Trustees
“I personally learned long ago as chief marketing officer at MillerCoors the value of hiring MIAD students and graduates. Their incredible talents have continually fueled the growth and leadership of southeastern Wisconsin’s design community.”
Robert Mikulay
Vice Chair, MIAD Board of Trustees
“Delta brings blue-sky projects to the table, and we’re always impressed by the creativity of the MIAD students’ solutions.”
Judd Lord
Director of Industrial Design
Delta Faucet Company
“Working with MIAD students is a phenomenal way to bring creativity into the business environment.”
Chris Cox
Product and Marketing Director
Vision Fitness
“The included artists [MIAD Alumni] demonstrate strengths in a variety of media, a testament to the college’s multimedia approach and trends of the current art world.”
John McKinnon
Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Milwaukee Art Museum
“Harley-Davidson is energized by our growing partnership with MIAD and ability to assist in the development of the college’s campus and its students. Harley Stylists play an integral role in the college’s ground-breaking Industrial Design PowerSports course, which they helped to found in 2008, and, last fall, students from across five majors participated in The Helmet Project, Harley-Davidson Museum’s first feature exhibition. It is especially gratifying now to see how the Interior Architecture and Design students are using the donated materials to transform MIAD’s campus for all students.”
Matt Levatich
Harley-Davidson
President and COO
“Our relationship with MIAD, the epicenter of our creative community, recognizes that in the 21st century, the creative spirit is not marginal, but vital.”
Paul Krajniak
Director
Discovery World
“You don’t measure MIAD’s impact just by the wonderful artists it educates. Its grads work in companies throughout the region… MIAD is a vital part of our creative capital.”
Julia Taylor
President
Greater Milwaukee Committee
“As this [Helmet Project] exhibition demonstrates, MIAD produces gifted students who positively impact Milwaukee’s culture and business environment.”
Peggy Sue Dunigan
“The talent of the MIAD students is inspiring, and the faculty really does a great job of leading the students toward a real-world experience. That is a goal where all truly benefit.”
Ray Drea
Redirector of Styling
Harley-Davidson Motor Corporation
News
Meet Bailey Staerkel and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Stitched Together
Bailey Staerkel ’26 (Fashion and Apparel Design) is a Dean’s List student from Vancouver, Wash., and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. My thesis, Stitched Together, is an exploration of Gothic horror through fashion, taking classic horror archetypes and reinterpreting them into a collection of fully realized couture looks.
MIAD faculty Yi receives Wisconsin Academy Fellows Award
Multidisciplinary artist, curator, mentor and Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) professor Jason S. Yi has been named a 2026 Fellow of the prestigious Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters. Yi is one of “16 extraordinary Wisconsinites who have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to intellectual discourse and public service,” the Academy said in its awards announcement.
Meet Logan Moris and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Regrowth
This is one in a series of online interviews with MIAD seniors, who share their thoughts about their 2026 Senior Exhibition project and their MIAD education. Logan Moris ’26 (Product Design) is from West Bend, Wis., and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award. What...
MIAD Values Recognition Award: Jason Yi
Jason Yi, Professor of Fine Art + New Studio Practice, received the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) Values Recognition Award for March 2026. Jason received nominations that highlighted his embodiment of MIAD’s Core Values, especially Integrity, Kindness and Community.
Meet Makenzie Cincotta and 2026 Senior Exhibition Project Point Park
Makenzie Cincotta ’26 (Interior Architecture and Design) is a Dean’s List student from Milwaukee and a recipient of a 2026 Alumni Thesis Award.