2025 Educator of the Year
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Closed

This award recognizes and celebrates a full-time design educator for outstanding accomplishments and commitment to interior design education.
Competition Guidelines
Application Requirements
All applications must be completed electronically. No hard copy applications will be accepted. If any of the following items are missing, your application will not be reviewed. Any additional materials will be removed and not considered. To apply you need to prepare and submit the following:
Written Component
Candidate Statement: 500-700 words, referencing career achievements including:
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Demonstrated excellence in teaching
- Innovation in teaching techniques or projects/course development
- Student mentorship
- Contributions to the profession of interior design and professional organizations
- Contributions to the field through creative scholarships or the publication of scholarly research in peer-reviewed journals
- Demonstrated leadership skills in interior design education and the community-at-large
Visual Component
Headshot in JPG or JPEG format with a minimum size of 1000px by 1000px
Letters of Recommendation
Three (3) letters of recommendation:
- One (1) letter from the Candidate’s Design School Chair or Program Coordinator
- One (1) letter from an educator who has worked directly with the candidate
- One (1) letter from a student either currently enrolled in the candidate’s program or recently graduated
Prize
The IIDA Educator of the Year will receive:
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A $7,500 cash award and a complementary IIDA membership
- Round-trip coach airfare and a one-night hotel stay in Chicago to attend the award presentation during the IIDA Annual Meeting
- A feature on IIDA.org, in "Design Matters," IIDA's member newsletter and "QUAD," IIDA's quarterly student newsletters
- Official digital assets, including competition winner logos for self-promotion
- Coverage and mention in IIDA social media accounts, and in an official press release distributed to leading industry outlets and media partners