It is a well known fact that minorities have been less visible in the field of design. It is our mission to change this situation by offering current and useful information about the design profession to young men and women who are interested in career opportunities in the design arts.

Dr. Mayo is especially concerned about the recruitment, retention, and eventual success of African American students and other minorities in the field of design. In an effort to accomplish this, we are committed to achieving the following goals:

Sponsor advance study in the design arts resulting in a masters degree in design

Aggressively recruit qualified applicants for advance study

Identify minority design students and foster their design interests

Develop better retention of minority students in higher education and industry

Establish a mentoring process to address their specific needs while they matriculate in the design program

Establish factors of success among design graduates from racial minorities who have moved into their professional field and who are able to articulate how they achieved their positions and established their credentials

Develop a pool of minority graduate students in design who will advise others on how to successfully matriculate in the design program