2025 Educator of the Year

This award recognizes and celebrates a full-time design educator for outstanding accomplishments and commitment to interior design education.

Submit/Apply

Eligibility

Current IIDA members in good standing who are current full-time educators with a minimum of five (5) years experience in a post-secondary program of interior design education at any university or recognized school of interior design. Current International Board Members are not eligible.

Competition Guidelines

Important Dates

Applications for the IIDA Educator of the Year award open annually.

Submission Open

Oct 14, 2024

Submission Closed

Dec 31, 2024

Pricing

There is no cost to apply to the IIDA Educator of the Year Award

Competition Guidelines

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:

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:

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