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Mainbocher, 1891-1976
US.20180711.007 · Person · 1891-1976

Mainbocher (1891-1976) was the first American-born designer to work as a successful Paris couturier. He was also the first to transfer his business from France to America in 1940 at the outbreak of World War II. Before becoming a designer, he was an intelligence officer with the American forces, opera singer, staff artist at Harper's Bazaar and fashion editor turned editor-in-chief at Paris Vogue. He debuted his first collection in Paris in November 1930, and designed biannual collections in America from 1940 to 1971. Throughout his career, Mainbocher was known for his ageless style and quietly pursued his own private vision. He maintained his belief that "women ought to be investors, not speculators in fashion," and likened his clothes to museum pieces. Although he claimed he was not interested in setting trends or influencing the fashion world, his designs did just that.

He studied classical singing in Munich and Paris. He had intended to pursue an operatic career until overcome by severe stage fright. It was then that he turned his attention to fashion design as a career.

He introduced the strapless evening gown, designed uniforms for the Red Cross, the Waves, Spars, Girl Scouts. He made a success with elegant, wearable clothes; elegant evening gowns were his forte. He has been ranked with Molyneux, Schiaparelli, Lelong. His philosophy has been widely quoted: "The responsibility and challenge...is to consider the design and the woman at the same time. Woman should look beautiful rather than just trendful."

Martin, Richard
US.20180711.008 · Person · 1946 December 4 - 1999 November 8

Richard Harrison Martin was born on Dec. 4, 1946, at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Swarthmore College in 1967 and received two master's degrees, both from Columbia University. He had begun his career in New York in 1973, teaching art history at F.I.T., at the School of Visual Arts and at New York University. He served as the editor in chief of Arts Magazine before being appointed the executive director of the Shirley Goodman Resource Center, which is responsible for exhibitions and collections at the fashion institute. His involvement with fashion exhibitions began in 1980 at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he worked with Mr. Koda and Laura Sinderbrand, the director of the school's Design Laboratory, now called the Museum at FIT.

Martin became the curator of the Met's costume collection in 1993 where he presented such exhibitions as ''Cubism and Fashion,'' ''Gianni Versace,'' ''Christian Dior,'' ''American Ingenuity: Sportswear, 1930's-1970's,'' ''Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress,'' ''Madame Gres'' and ''Swords Into Ploughshares: Military Dress and the Civilian Wardrobe." Martin also added to the Costume Institute's collection by accepting donations of clothing from designers and their clients and by shopping at auctions, flea markets, discount stores and Barneys New York's warehouse sales.

Martin wrote more than 100 scholarly papers on subjects as varied as ''Art History and the Assimilation of Images by Contemporary Artists'' and ''Redress of the Nerds: The Assertion of Nerd Style in Men's Clothing and Imagery in the 1980's.'' He also wrote books on fashion and art, including ''Fashion and Surrealism'' and ''Charles James,'' and was a co-author of others. He was a tireless lecturer and reviewer and held many academic positions, including those at the School of Visual Arts, New York University, Columbia University, the Juilliard School and Parsons School of Design.

Martin passed in 1999 of melanoma.

Gustafson, Mats, 1951-
US.20180711.009 · Person · 1951-

Mats Gustafson (Swedish, b. 1951) began his career as an illustrator in the late 1970s, a time when editorial illustration was eclipsed by photography, and watercolor as a conceptual medium had barely been explored. A graduate of Dramatiska Institutet (University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre) in Stockholm, he first applied his graphic sensibility to the art of stage design. This experience translated into illustration when he began publishing his work in eminent international fashion publications. The elegant and subtly expressive character of Gustafson's watercolor, pastel and cut-out paperworks expanded the possibilities of fashion illustration and nearly single-handedly reinvigorated the genre. Gustafson’s fashion and portrait illustrations have been included in editorial publications such as French and Italian Vogue, The New Yorker, and Visionaire, and he has created advertising art for Hermès, Tiffany & Co., Yohji Yamamoto, and Comme des Garçons. His work has been exhibited internationally in solo and group shows. Gustafson lives in New York.

Howard, Jim
US.20180711.010 · Person · 1930-

"Jim Howard is an American fashion illustrator. Born in Texas in 1930, Howard began drawing at 8 years old. He graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and began his career as a window dresser for the Austin department store Goodfriends where he was occassionally allowed to created promotional drawings. He left his work at Goodfriends to join the US army during WWII. After returning to the US in 1950, he began work as a fashion illustrator for the Texas headquarters of Neiman Marcus. In the 1960s, Howard moved to New York where he began work as the artistic director for Franklin Simon & Co. After leaving Franklin Simon & Co, he began work as a freelance illustrator working for luxury fashion retailors such as: Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller, B. Altman and Marshall Field’s. He worked consistently through the 1980s when photography took over as the primary medium for fashion representation.

Kaish, Morton, 1927-
US.20180711.013 · Person · 1927-

Morton Kaish (1927- ) is an American artist known for his paintings, prints, and fashion illustrations. During the 1950s and 1960s, Kaish worked as a fashion illustrator for publications such as Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, and Lord & Taylor. In addition, Kaish was a Professor of Art and Design at FIT for 25 years. While teaching at FIT, Kaish developed and led a study abroad program in Florence, Italy. Kaish has also been in Art-in-residence at a number of universities in the United States. His works have been featured in many museum exhibits across the country.

Koolhaas, Rem
US.20180711.016 · Person

Rem Koolhaas is a Dutch architect.

Mark, Mona
US.20180711.020 · Person
Nast, Condé, 1873-1942
US.20180711.021 · Person · 1873-1942

The founder of Condé Nast Publications, Condé Montrose Nast was born in New York City in 1873. Despite his legal education, Nast took a job in publishing, as the advertising manager for an American magazine, Collier's Weekly. Among his other publishing interests, Nast was Vice President of the Home Pattern Company, a manufacturer and distributer of women’s dress patterns. Here, he became knowledgeable about women’s fashion and women’s magazines, and subsequently in 1909 went on to purchase Vogue. Founded in the US in 1892, by Arthur Baldwin Turnure, Vogue was a weekly society magazine, which recorded social events and offered guidance on etiquette, including advice on what to wear for such occasions. Nast transformed the publication into a bimonthly women’s fashion magazine. Commercially, Nast recognized the value of Vogue readers as an influential and affluent audience and pursued high-end advertisers willing to pay extra to reach them. Similarly aware that Vogue readers demanded the highest editorial quality and standards, he hired the best illustrators and photographers to create attractive, stimulating content focusing on fashion. Vogue flourished and within a year under his management, subscriptions doubled, newsstand sales tripled and the magazine was carrying 44% more advertising pages than its closest competitor. In his lifetime Nast was known as one who always originated, a champion of excellence and innovation.

US.20180711.022 · Person · 1969-2010

Alexander McQueen was a British fashion designer. McQueen got his start in the fashion industry at age 16, when he began working at Anderson & Sheppard in London, making suits for high profile politicians. He went on to work with Japanese designer Koji Tatsuno in London and then with Romeo Gigli in Italy. He attended fashion college Central Saint Martins from 1990 to 1992, where his master's thesis collection was purchased in entirety by stylist Isabelle Blow. He founded his own brand, Alexander McQueen in 1992 and opened his first boutique in 1999. In 1996, McQueen was named British Designer of the Year, and later that year took over as the head designer of Givenchy. He left Givenchy in 2001 to focus on expanding his own brand, including fragrances in 2003, a menswear collection in 2004, and a ready-to-wear line McQ in 2006.

Medine, Leandra
US.20180711.023 · Person · Unknown

Leandra Medine is an American fashion blogger and founder of the blog and brand, Man Repeller. Man Repeller ceased operations in the summer of 2020 following criticisms over the lack of diversity and support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Melendez, Robert
US.20180711.024 · Person · Unknown

Fashion illustrator Robert Melendez, trained at Parsons School of Design in NYC, and has contributed illustrations for WWD, the New York Times, and Saks Fifth Avenue beginning in the 1970s.

Menn, Christian, 1927-
US.20180711.025 · Person · 1927-

Christian Menn was a Swiss engineer most well known for the technical and aesthetic quality of his bridges.

Miller, Lee, 1907-1977
US.20180711.026 · Person · 1907-1977

Lee Miller was an American photographer, surrealist artist, and model. Miller began her career in 1926 as a model, handpicked by Condé Nast to be a model at Vogue. She moved to Paris in 1929 and began working for photographer Man Ray, and established her own studio. She photographed many French artists including Paul Éluard, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, and Joan Miró. She returned to New York in 1932, opening up her studio up once again, doing celebrity portraiture, surrealist photographs, and advertising work. She also continued to model for and began photographing for Vogue. She closed her studio two years later after she married and moved to Cairo, Egypt. In 1939, she moved to London and began work as a freelance photographer and later in 1943, a war correspondent, for Vogue.

Moog, Bob (Robert)
US.20180711.027 · Person · 1934-2005

Bob Moog was an engineer, pioneer of electronic music, and creator of the Moog synthesizer.

Mugler, Manfred Thierry
US.20180711.029 · Person · 1948-

Born on December 21, 1948 in Strasbourg, France, Thierry Mugler is known for his highly structured, yet body-conscious garments. His avant-garde runway shows and provocative futurist collections are the defining characteristics of his brand. At age 24, Mugler moved to Paris where he worked as a window dresser for the boutique Gudule, and began designing on the side, eventually branching out to freelance work. Mugler created his first collection in 1973 entitled “Cafe de Paris” and in 1992, his first fragrance, “Angel,” the same year in which he debuted his first haute couture collection. Mugler has also published fashion photography books and short films which he directs himself. In 2003 the fashion division of Thierry Mugler was closed due to business losses. The fashion house was revived in 2008, in part due to the popularity of his pieces featured at the Superhero’s: Fashion and Fantasy exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2008. Despite the revival of the house, Mugler himself has ceased to design for his eponymous label. However, most recently, Mugler designed Kim Kardashian West’s outfit for the Met Gala in 2019.

Zenou, Izak
US.20180711.031 · Person · Unknown

Izak Zenou is a fashion illustrator who has worked for numerous brands and publications including Chanel, Celine, Henri Bendel, L’Oreal, Sephora, Rizzoli, Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire.

de Juan, Eric
US.20180711.032 · Person · Unknown

Primary sources are conflicting as to whether half-French, half-Cuban Eric de Juan was born in Cuba or France, but ancedotal evidence suggests he spent time as a youth in both, being educated mainly in France. At the age of 15 he dismayed his parents with the proclamation that he intended to become a couturier. As the son of a wealthy family, he was expected to take over his father's successful import business. His grandmother— "a great French lady,"—felt differently, and backed her grandson's dream whole-heartedly, converting a portion of her sumptuous home into a workroom and salon for him. Perhaps fleeing from the Nazi occupation of Paris, sometime around 1939, de Juan established a couture house in Cuba, where he became known as the "Mainbocher of Havana." Here he says, "I was very spoiled there...It got so that I could choose my own customers," from the the millionaire glitterati who flocked to the popular resort destination during the 1940s and 1950s. After being jailed six times by Castro for his "association with wealthy clients," and having his business and property seized by the state—his home was converted into the Soviet Embassay—de Juan fled to the US in February of 1964. de Juan's first job stateside was with the noted 7th Avenue coat and suit manufacturer Ben Zuckerman. Three years later, de Juan would replace Leslie Morris as the inhouse designer for the Bergdorf Goodman custom salon; perhaps his friendship as a youth in Cuba with Nena Menach, who was to become Mrs. Andrew Goodman facilitated this opportunity. This arrangement was not to last long; the custom salon would close its doors for financial reasons in May of 1969. de Juan remained on at Bergdorf's for a short period, designing for the store's Plaza Collection. By the mid 1970s, de Juan had left New York for sunnier shores, setting up a custom shop on Seaview Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida. Socialites and heiresses would rely upon him for day and evening looks as well as the wedding gowns of their daughters until at least the mid-1980s. The full extent of de Juan's operations in Florida is unclear, but at this point he had been working in the fashion industry for at least five decades. Information regarding date of death cannot be found.

Zes Studio
US.20180711.033 · Corporate body · 2008-

ZESstudio is an all-encompassing design solution which includes part graphic designers, green design specialists, and web designers. ZESstudio produces high quality products and services for its clients.

Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987
US.20180711.034 · Person · 1928-1987

Andy Warhol was an American artist, photographer, and illustrator.

Women's Wear Daily
US.20180711.035 · Corporate body · 1910 (date of establishment)

Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal published by Fairchild Media which provides breaking news about the fashion industry, designers, trend setters, and fashion week coverage.

Wilson, Carl
US.20180711.036 · Person · 1946-1998

Carl Wilson helped form the Beach Boys as a teenager. He played lead guitar and sang with the group for more than three decades.

Warner's
US.20180711.037 · Corporate body
Wiener Werkstätte
US.20180711.038 · Corporate body · 1903–1932

Wiener Werkstätte was an artist collective founded by architect Josef Hoffmann, graphic designer and painter Koloman Moser, and their patron Fritz Waerndorfer. Their aim was to produce high-quality craftwork to fulfill all manner of everyday needs including furniture, houseware, apparel, and works of architecture. They sought to minimize the gap between designers and consumers.

Troy, Seymour
US.20180711.041 · Person

Seymour Troy, born in the textile city of Lodz, Poland, migrated to the United States as a child in 1910. He financed his way through school by selling shoes, and by 1923 he had saved enough money to open his own small factory. For his first firm, Troy chose the name "yrto" (an anagram of his name) in order to give the brand a European sound. Eventually, Troy produced custom shoes under the name Seymour Troy Originals, as well as a ready-made collection under the name Troylings.

In 1960, the National Shoe Retail Association gave Seymour Troy the first annual “Mercury” award to honor him for 35 plus years in the business and numerous valuable contributions to the footwear field. His contributions throughout the years include the asymmetrical strap silhouette; the open sandal; the rolled top opera pump; the baby doll toe; the platform sole; the use of elasticized leathers and vinyl and Lucite in shoes; and the “Valkyrie” – a series of shoes with high-rising instep cover that outdid the classic opera pump in popularity in the 1930s.

Troy passed away in 1975.

Toledo, Ruben
US.20180711.043 · Person · 1960-

Ruben Toledo is a Cuban fashion artist. He and wife Isabel Toledo work closely together in several fields of fashion. She is a fashion designer known for producing clothing that combines sophisticated simplicity and meticulous craftsmanship. He is a fashion artist whose distinctive drawings have appeared in many fashion publications and whose work extends to designing mannequins and painting murals for fashionable restaurants; Isabel is his muse and almost invariably his model. He also is responsible for managing the business side of her clothing business. Theirs is a true creative partnership; it is impossible to delineate the boundaries of the contribution of each to the work of the other.

Ruben Toledo was born in Cuba in 1960; he and Isabel met in school as members of the large Cuban expatriate community of northern New Jersey. They quickly recognized one another as kindred spirits and began collaborating in art and design. They were married in 1984.

The Toledos had a major exhibition, Toledo/Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion, at the museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in 1999. Ruben’s illustrations reached a wide audience in his witty book, Style Dictionary (1997). In one of his iconoclastic fashion illustrations, entitled “Fashion history goes on strike,” Ruben portrayed dresses from the past, from New Look to Mod, parading across the page in a militant demonstration, carrying placards reading, “Let us rest in peace! No more retro! Look forward, not backward!” Both of the Toledos remain on the cutting edge of style, moving fashion forward.

Stavrinos, George, 1948-1990
US.20180711.044 · Person · 1948-1990

A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and a member of the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame, George Stavrinos is remembered for his fashion illustrations for clients such as fashion retailers Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman, and the men’s fashion magazine GQ.
Stavrinos entered the conscious of many gay men through his work for the 1977 publication Gay Source: A Catalog for Men. His work appeared in numerous magazines, including Blueboy and Christopher Street. His work illustrated an excerpt of Paul Monette’s first novel, Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll, which appeared in the August 1978 issue of Blueboy.
Mel Odom told the Advocate: "George and I were good friends and neighbors . . . we lived ten blocks apart and he went out of his way to befriend me. George was a doll. A very sweet, complicated man with a huge heart and tons of talent.”
At the time of Stavrinos’s death, at age 42 of AIDS-related illness, he was discussing working with Jim French at Colt Studio on new male erotic work.
This excerpt is taken from the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art exhibition Stroke: From Under the Mattress to the Museum Walls.

Steiner, Stuart
US.20180711.045 · Person · 1937 (date of birth)

Steiner was the president of Genesee Community College from 1975 to 2011 and took a leave of absence, at the request of the SUNY Chancellor, to serve as the interim president of F.I.T. from 1997 to 1998. Steiner has also had an active involvement in the SUNY community college system, serving as acting director to the SUNY Chancellor for Community Colleges; member of the SUNY Task Force on Community College Code and Standards of Operations and Procedures; member of the New York State Education Commissioner's Advisory Council on Higher Education; member, director, and president of the New York State Association of Presidents of Community Colleges; board member of the Institute for Community College Development; and member of the Middle States Commission.

Stipelman, Steven
US.20180711.046 · Person

Steven Stipelman is a fashion illustrator and a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has previously worked as a staff illustrator at Henri Bendel and was a fashion artist at Women's Wear Daily for 25 years.

Swansdown (Firm)
US.20180711.049 · Corporate body · Unknown

The House of Swansdown, Inc., was one of the largest manufacturers of women's coats and suits in New York. Its president was J. David Haft who worked with young Paris designer, Hubert de Givenchy, to provide coat and suit designs for reproduction in the United States.

Swope, Martha
US.20180711.050 · Person · 1928-2017

Martha Swope was one of the most inventive photographers of theatre and dance in the United States from 1957 to 1990. Her career began as a dancer until Jerome Robbins invited Swope to photograph rehearsals of his new musical. She accepted this invitation and continued to photograph many major plays and musicals on Broadway until the 1990s.

US.20180711.051 · Corporate body · 1949-

In 1949, Faith Reichert and some friends founded the Roundtable of Fashion Executives, a group of women executives in fashion that was meant to support women in what was then a male-dominated field.

Royer, Chris
US.20180711.052 · Person

Chris Royer was an American model who got her start as a prominent model for Halston, and became part of his close group of models known as the Halstonettes. Royer was signed to Ford Models, where she was one of their top models in the 1970s. She has worked as a fashion executive for Revlon, Halston Enterprises, and is now the President of CRC, a consulting firm specializing in strategic marketing for fashion and beauty related brands such as Remington, M.A.C. and Betsey Johnson. Royer also acts as a consultant, contributor, writer, collector, and archivist to major exhibitions of Halston at various institutions including the Museum at FIT, the Costume Institute at the MET, and the EMP Museum.

Saunders, Ramona
US.20180711.053 · Person

Ramona Saunders was a Black model, and one of the ten who walked in The Battle of Versailles fashion show.

Scaasi, Arnold 1930-2015
US.20180711.054 · Person · 1930-2015

Arnold Scaasi was born in Canada in 1930 and is known for dressing five First Ladies, using French couture techniques. Former First Lady Barbara Bush says, "His dresses brought me great joy - whether they were for a state dinner or just a simple suit I could wear anywhere." Scaasi donated over 100 garments and sold his a portion of his archives to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 2009, the remainder reside at FIT Special Collections.

Schwartzbach, Leonard
US.20180711.055 · Person · Unknown

Leonard Schwartzbach was the business partner of Pearl Levy, and together they founded André Studios, a sketch (or croquis) subscription service for garment industry professionals, located at 570 Seventh Avenue in New York City.

Sem, 1863-1934
US.20180711.056 · Person · 1863-1934

Georges Goursat (1863–1934), known as Sem, was a French caricaturist famous during the Belle Époque. He was born in Perigueux on 22 November 1863. Around 1890 Georges Goursat began to use the moniker “Sem” when signing his work. He was invited to Paris in March 1900 by Jean Lorrain, mainly to work in the studio of Cherat. In Paris, Sem lived on the Rue de Vaugirard and he found his artistic inspiration in visiting the racetracks of Paris. Here he put together the album The Turf, which was immediately considered a great success. He also became associated with Parisian society at places like the Restaurant Maxim’s, at the Opera, at Longchamps, or in the Allée des Acacias.

Sem’s unique talent made his work very identifiable, particularly because of the essential sobriety of his composition, in which his characters usually emerge from a white or plain background rather than being more obvious caricatures. His work is particularly associated with the Belle Epoque and, during this period, he wrote numerous articles chronicling theatre shows, fashion, travel and artistic reviews. He also created a number of very beautiful posters illustrating subjects like the clowns Footit and Chocolat, the tourist towns of Deauville, Cannes and Monte Carlo, and also a number of businesses including Benedictine.

Richard, T.
US.20180711.057 · Person
Revlon, Inc.
US.20180711.058 · Corporate body · 1932 (date of establishment)

Revlon, Inc. is an American-based cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company established in New York City. The company was founded in 1932 by brothers Charles and Joseph Revson, along with chemist CR Lachman.

Rizzotti, Gianni
US.20180711.061 · Person · Unknown

Gianni Rizzotti is a fashion, advertising, and portrait photographer. He worked with several international agencies, fashion brands, and advertising brands. Rizzotti has published four photography books.

Rockmore, Clara
US.20180711.062 · Person · 1911-1998

Clara Rockmore was an American classical violin prodigy and a virtuoso performer of the theremin, an electronic musical instrument. She passed away in 1998.

Rabin, Ethel
US.20180711.065 · Person

Ethel Rabin was an American artist specializing in painting and sculpture.

Purnell, Catherine Clayton
US.20180711.066 · Person · Unknown

Catherine Clayton Purnell is a fashion illustrator whose work has graced the pages of Women's Wear Daily. She has also illustrated many books on clothing, style, and fashion. Her preferred medium were watercolor and colored pencils.

Vernet, Carle, 1758-1836
US.20180712.002 · Person · 1758-1836

Carle Vernet was a French painter most well known for his works of battle scenes for Napoleon I and sporting scenes for King Louis XVIII.

Brown, Joyce F.
US.20180718.001 · Person · 1947 July 7 (date of birth)

Dr. Joyce F. Brown is president of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a specialized college of art and design, business and technology of the State University of New York (SUNY). Appointed in 1998, she is the college’s sixth president.

Dr. Brown, a highly regarded educator and academic administrator, has had over 35 years experience in public higher education. She held a number of senior administrative posts at the City University of New York (CUNY) before arriving at FIT, including acting president of Bernard Baruch College and vice chancellor of the university. Prior to her appointment at FIT, she was professor of clinical psychology at the Graduate School and University Center of CUNY, where she is currently professor emerita. Dr. Brown also served as a New York City deputy mayor for public and community affairs during the David Dinkins administration.

At FIT, Dr. Brown has led an ambitious, unprecedented multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative coordinating strategic and investment planning that has transformed the college. She has built faculty ranks, increased technology, improved student services, enhanced the campus with new and renovated facilities, and invigorated its culture with ground-breaking initiatives in diversity and sustainability. In widely expanding the curriculum, she has added innovative new programs, interdisciplinary minors and raised the profile of the liberal arts. FIT serves 10,000 full and part-time students with a faculty and staff of more than 1,700. Dr. Brown is FIT’s first woman and first African-American president.

Throughout her career, Dr. Brown has been a strong advocate for higher education and has demonstrated a sophisticated knowledge of the many communities that make up New York. She directed numerous special initiatives for CUNY, including the Urban Summit of Big City Mayors, as well as collaborations between the New York City Board of Education and the university which focused on improving academic preparation and retention in the secondary schools. In addition, she created and directed programs with the government of South Africa, including the Professional Development Program—an effort inspired by Nelson Mandela—designed to prepare black South Africans for key positions in business and industry.

Active in numerous community, civic and professional organizations, Dr. Brown also serves as president of The FIT Foundation, an advisory and support body to FIT. She is currently a director of the Ralph Lauren Corporation and a member of the New York Economic Club’s Board of Trustees. She is also a Clean Revolution Ambassador for The Climate Group. In addition, she has served on state-wide commissions and task forces on the black family, child care and domestic violence. She has been honored by numerous educational, cultural and civic organizations including New York University, Marymount College, Clark Atlanta University, The Town Hall, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Brown earned her doctorate and master’s degree in counseling psychology from New York University and her bachelor’s degree from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, where she served as a trustee from 1994 to 2000. She also received a certificate from the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

Diversity Council
US.20180718.002 · Corporate body · 2005 (date of establishment)

The Diversity Council of FIT is an advisory group, increasing diversity awareness and assisting the President and the Affirmative Action Officer in matters concerning equity, inclusion, and diversity including racial and ethnic identity, age, cultural identity, religious and spiritual identity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical and mental ability, nationality, social and economic status, and political and ideological perspectives.

The mission of the Council is to help FIT students, faculty and staff fulfill their personal and professional potential by creating a climate of inclusion and equality within the FIT community. The Council fosters diverse relationships and gives a voice to diversity by cultivating an inclusive learning environment.

Sustainability Council
US.20180718.003 · Corporate body · 2007 (date of establishment)

The Sustainability Council was established by the President, to develop and foster sustainability initiatives throughout the FIT community.

Each year the Council organizes and hosts a business and design conference on campus. The Council also offers and manages an annual grant fund of $15,000 to support creative and innovative campus sustainability initiatives.

Office of Academic Affairs
US.20180718.004 · Corporate body · 1944-

Academic Affairs includes the Schools of Art & Design, Business & Technology, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Graduate Studies; and the Center for Continuing & Professional Studies. The four schools offer 48 degree programs: 15 associate's degrees; 26 bachelor's degrees; and seven master's degrees. The School of Liberal Arts also offers 27 minors, while the Center for Continuing and Professional Studies awards 12 different credit certificates.

The Academic Services departments include the Office of Grants & Sponsored Programs, International Programs, the Gladys Marcus Library, and Faculty and Academic Program Support.

The Faculty and Academic Support units include Faculty Services, the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Online Learning and Academic Technologies, Institutional Research and Effectiveness, Academic Advising, Academic Skills Tutoring, Career and Internship Services, Testing/Placement Services, and the Writing and Speaking Studio.

Office of the President
US.20180718.005 · Corporate body · 1951 (date of establishment)

Under the leadership of the President, the office supports all activities related to FIT's mission, while assisting in continual assessment of the efficacy and quality of its programs and administrative offices.

The President engages the college community in strategic and investment planning efforts to build faculty ranks, increase technology, expand the curriculum, and improve student services.

Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the President oversees a nine-member cabinet of senior administrators and manages divisional units of the college. The President also has an Extended Cabinet, comprised of the Cabinet plus all deans, associate and assistant deans, associate and assistant vice presidents, the director of the The Museum at FIT, and the internal auditor.

Dr. Joyce F. Brown is the current President of FIT; she has served since 1998. Her predecessors are, in reverse chronological order, Stuart Steiner (1997-1998), Alan F. Hershfield (1992-1997), Marvin Feldman (1971-1992), Shirley Goodman (1970-1971), Lawrence L. Jarvie (1966-1970), Samuel Dietsch (1965), Lawrence Bethel (1953-1965), again Samuel Dietsch (1953), Max Meyer (1952-1953), and Mortimer C. Ritter (1951-1952). Ritter also served as Director from 1944-1951.

Jarvie, Lawrence L.
US.20180719.001 · Person · 1990 November 22 (date of death)

"Dr. Lawrence L. Jarvie, an educator who helped to lead the postwar expansion of New York State's community colleges and served as a president of the Fashion Institute of Technology, died on Thursday at the Largo Medical Center in Florida. He was 84 years old and lived in Belleair, Fla.

He suffered a stroke on Oct. 7, his wife Wynn said.

As executive dean of the State University of New York for two-year and community colleges, Dr. Jarvie was credited with a leading role in the expansion of the state's two-year colleges after World War II.

When he moved to the position in 1949 from similar responsibilities as associate state commissioner of education, the State University had five community colleges, known then as institutes. By the time he left the post in 1961 to become president of the New York City College of Applied Arts and Sciences, the state system had grown to 16 community colleges.

After a brief time as general superintendent for community education in Flint, Mich., he returned to New York in 1965 to serve as president of the Fashion Institute of Technology. During more than five years there, he oversaw the growth of the its plant, programs and enrollment."

Bethel, Lawrence L.
US.20180719.002 · Person

Lawrence L. Bethel was President of FIT from 1953-1965. He was considered a prime mover in the expansion of the school and was the driver behind a 10-year, $36 million dollar plan to add four additional buildings to the campus. He was born in Warrensburg Missouri and graduated from Central Missouri State College in 1928. From there, he earned degrees from Columbia and Yale. He was the author of several books on industrial management and opened new doors to link the fashion industries with FIT. He was also instrumental in helping Mexico and Israel set up schools like FIT. He believed that the growth of community colleges was the most significant development in education in the 20th century.