Professor Randy Bartlett Named IDSA’s 2020 Education Award Winner

Professor Randy Bartlett of Auburn’s School of Industrial and Graphic Design (SIGD) was named a recipient of the prestigious Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) Educator Award for 2021. This annual honor recognizes those educators who have made significant long-term contributions to the field of industrial design in academia. Bartlett, SIGD’s Bauhaus Endowed Professor, accepted his award in a live virtual ceremony on September 20, 2021.

Educator Award winners are selected by committee and approved by IDSA’s Board of Directors after initially being nominated by their peers. In recommending Bartlett, industrial design program chair Shea Tillman stated, “In every aspect of his teaching, Randy consistently motivates his students to produce holistic design solutions, and he has established multiple, ongoing design initiatives within our college, across campus and internationally.” Associate Professor Shu-Wen Tzeng said that as a colleague she is a frequent witness to Bartlett’s passion and dedication to his work. “After 41 years of design practice and 31 years of teaching, Randy is still devoting himself to design education with the goal of bringing positive impact to not just the students at Auburn University but also the design communities inside and outside the United States.”

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Randy earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial design at Auburn University and a Master of Public Administration at Columbus State University. As a product designer, Bartlett worked in industry for 13 years in the dental equipment, home exercise and outdoor architectural lighting industries. He currently holds over 20 patents and continues to work as an industry consultant. Having taught at Auburn since 1993, he is currently the director of SIGD’s futures studio, an off-campus instructional site in Mobile where students can complete a semester of undergraduate or graduate studies. For the last 25 years, he has also been the director of the Collaborative Studio Abroad program, leading design students on annual trips across Ireland and the United Kingdom.