Today we learned, in an apparent slip, that Richard Buchanan is leaving the School of Design. At the very end of class, in a conversation largely framed around the question of what is design, he mentioned that he would be a professor of information systems, “whatever that means.” There was a pause in the room as we students wondered if we just heard what had been rumored to be the case ever since Dick dropped all thesis advisees a few weeks ago. I took the opportunity and broke the silence: “So you are leaving?”
“Yes.”
He did not say much more, only that it was very difficult to leave the program. Not surprising for the person who has been with the school for 17 years, first serving as the Nierenberg Chair, followed immediately by a 10-year stint as head. He redesigned the undergraduate program and spearheaded the creation of the grad program that I am about to graduate from.
Sources indicate that he has accepted a position at Case Western.
As Buchanan has provided the theoretical and philosophical perspective to design that has influenced everyone that has passed through the grad program and contributes greatly to what makes designers from the School of Design stand out amongst their contemporaries, his departure will definitely impact the feel of the program and perhaps the thinking of its future grads. I’m very curious to see how the school adapts to his leaving next year.
Personally, I have enjoyed the classes I have taken with Dick. I appreciate the broad view of design that he promotes. And there was something wonderful about being beaten down and made to struggle through difficult texts during Seminar 1 the first semester of my graduate experience. If nothing, the experience contributed to a stance of humility and appreciation for different perspectives. It’s difficult to know how much he has influenced my thinking. I tend to believe that I have been influenced more by my peers when talking about the material of his classes than the classes themselves. However, if the stories Dick tells are true, I may not realize the impact of his classes for years to come.
Comments
6 responses to “Richard Buchanan Leaving School of Design”
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.
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.
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!
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.
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. :)
My understanding is that Case Western is doing some amazing work to bring the design thinking into the mainstream business/MBA world. It certainly will be an extremely difficult challenge, but Dick certainly is up for it!