窪蹋勛圖厙s Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation serves a market of interdisciplinary professionals by building on the strengths of faculty across the university, integrating expertise to address contemporary issues in four areas of specialization. The 60-credit-hour program encompasses six semesters of study and 45 hours of course offerings specific to the curriculum and its advanced nature, mostly devoted to individual, supervised research, requiring students to work one-on-one with faculty.
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Meet Meredyth Yorek: DDes Candidate, DMAE Alum Designing for the Future
My research is at the intersection of digital twins and game design technologies, with a specialized focus on digital preservation, Meredyth Yorek said. When she was an undergraduate student first applying to 窪蹋勛圖厙,…
Read Full StoryBrent Fortenberry Named RRSLA Interim Director
The 窪蹋勛圖厙 College of Art & Design has named Brent Fortenberry the new interim director of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture. He is currently associate dean of research and graduate studies and…
Read Full StoryResearch Team Investigates Coastal Cultural Heritage Sites
Art & Design Team Awarded 2024 Provosts Fund for Innovation in Research Big Idea Award An interdisciplinary team of faculty researchers in the 窪蹋勛圖厙 College of Art & Design were awarded a Big Idea…
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Doctor of Design Featured Graduate
Katherine Fresina
Katherine Fresina
DDes 2024
Katherine Fresina is a 2024 graduate of 窪蹋勛圖厙’s Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation program and an advocate for cultural stewardship through museums. Fresina has worked at the throughout her doctoral education as an assistant registrar and presently serves as the museums curator.
Katherine Fresina has been selected as a recipient of the prestigious College of Art & Design 2024 Dean’s Medal for her outstanding dedication and academic excellence as an 窪蹋勛圖厙 student. Fresina is only the third Doctor of Design student ever nominated for the award.
Fresinas involvement at the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Rural Life Museum began after earning her Master of Arts in Art History from 窪蹋勛圖厙 in 2013. Her interest in working in a museum prompted Fresina to find her own entry point to the field as a volunteer at the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Rural Life Museum. She was quickly brought onto the museums curatorial staff as a part-time collections assistant. It was during her time as a collections assistant that Fresina enrolled in 窪蹋勛圖厙s Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation program; she was hired soon after as a full-time assistant registrar at the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Rural Life Museum. In 2022, Fresina was promoted to be the museums curator, a role which she continues to excel in today. Fresina is staying in Louisiana after graduation and plans to continue as the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Rural Life Museums curator.
Fresinas studies at 窪蹋勛圖厙 on the historical significance of objects have made a significant impact on the experience of visitors to the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Rural Life Museum. As reflected in her doctoral dissertation Preserving the Embodied Meaning of Objects, Fresina possesses a unique interest in understanding the meaning that historical objects held to their original owners. This interest directly translates into the presentation of artifacts in the 窪蹋勛圖厙 Rural Life Museums collection.
Her research gave her valuable insights into the relationship between material culture and people who created and used the objects,” said Museum Director Bill Star. “The museum and its visitors benefit from a more nuanced and contextualized interpretation within the museum.
Fresina is a graduate of the Class of 2024, the largest graduating class yet of Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation students.