Comments on: Richard Buchanan Leaving School of Design

By: William Choi

William Choi — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:15:55 +0000

I too do not have any formal educational experiences with Dick, but he has been and still is the most influential person in my design studies (I get to mention his name and ideas at least once a week when I meet with new people). Last winter, he kept his promise for me, visiting Rhode Island School of Design, where his lecture and workshop enlightened many RISD students with his famous question “what is design?” Now I understand why he advised me to look in to Case Western University at that time. :)

By: Darrel Rhea

Darrel Rhea — Fri, 02 May 2008 06:02:32 +0000

While I have never been enrolled as a student in any class Dick has taught, he has been an incredible influence on me as a professional practitioner of design. In that way I would say that I have been a student of his for almost 20 years.

There is hardly a week that goes by that I don’t use basic distinctions learned from him. He has made a huge contribution to the field of design while at CMU, and I look forward to seeing what happens when he pisses off all those management types at Case Western. My hope is that their environment stimulates a fresh batch of thinking from Dick, and that his next career phase is as productive and valuable as his CMU leadership.

By: Xin

Xin — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:34:30 +0000

Dick created the School of Design spirit that had separated CMU design from the rest. It is that spirit shaped the forward vision of the graduates from the program.

Dick had given up a great opportunity in the Far East, partially for our PhD program. Thank you, Dick, for you as a great mentor and vision setter!

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:29:38 +0000

I always credit Dick for helping me realize graduating with a BFA in design didn’t mean I had to go and design tennis shoes for the rest of my life. He planted this seed in my head that I could go on and get a PhD with an undergraduate degree in design.

He has had quite an impact on many students and the school will be very different without him.

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:21:01 +0000

Thank you for positing this news.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to the MDes program, Dick initiated and developed the PhD program in Design, which has had a substantive impact on the field of design education.

This will of course change the entire tenor of the CMU program.