The Department of Interior Design recognized Marlo Ransdell, Ph.D. 2009, with the 2014 Rising Leader Alumni Award. This is the first year the department is recognizing an alumnus who is working in interior design education.
Ransdell received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in interior design at the University of Kentucky. She continued her education and completed her doctorate at DCP in 2009. Her research focused on virtual learning communities in interior design and she received a minor in educational technology. During her tenure at UF, Ransdell gained a reputation as an emerging scholar and first class teaching assistant. Her passion for design continued, as she moved to Tallahassee to join the faculty at Florida State University where she is now an assistant professor and Director of Studio D.
Studio D: Design and Fabrication Lab was created through Ransdell’s vision and tenacity. Studio D supports undergraduate and graduate studios in furniture design and prototyping for the department of interior design. Along with classroom space for 40, it is a traditional wood working shop with milling, cutting and sanding equipment. Studio D also houses a myriad of digital fabrication equipment. As Creative Director, Ransdell facilitates undergraduate and graduate furniture design courses among other classes and studios, and also curates gallery shows such as “Digital Fabrication: The Flat Pack”. In addition to her role as Creative Director, she is the technology coordinator for the department, and is a certified Rhino software specialist.
Ransdell and her students also gives back to her community and works with local schools and the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. She has presented and co-presented papers at conferences and has been invited to Mexico this Spring to present, “Digital Fabrication in Design Research in Education.” After hours, she enjoys spending time on the soccer,baseball and football fields with her husband and sons (ages 7 and 4).
