Susan Ray-Degges, program coordinator and professor for NDSU’s CIDA-accredited interior design program, was named a fellow of the Interior Design Educators Council during the organization’s annual conference.
Fellow status is a professional membership category designed to honor an IDEC member who has made outstanding and ongoing contributions to the council and interior design education.
Nominated by her peers, Ray-Degges has been active with IDEC for more than 20 years, holding leadership positions for more than 15 years. Most recently, she served as IDEC president in 2020. Her leadership at the Tulsa national conference was an example on how to be a strong, calm leader during the pandemic, a time of shifting information and increasing uncertainty.
During that time, she helped establish and facilitate IDEC’s virtual internship which enabled students to have the experience of mentorship that they missed when most internships were canceled.
For her efforts, Ray-Degges received two IDEC merit awards, and a service award. Design Intelligence recognized her in the category of Most Admired Interior Design Educator.
Her scholarly work is in the fields of environmental gerontology, hospitality design and design pedagogy. She has published in the Journal of Interior Design, Housing and Society, Journal of Housing for the Elderly and The Gerontologist.
Ray-Degges, earned her doctorate from the University of Missouri. She will start her 31st year at NDSU this fall. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers and North Dakota Interior Designers.
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.
