Dean Appointed to Advisory Board for Interior Design

June 15, 2016  by in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

Turpin is serving on the department’s Business and Industry Advisory Board for Interior Design. In this role he will review the state’s interior design curriculum, evaluating course requirements and content to better prepare high school students for college-level programs.

He hopes this opportunity will enable him to improve high school curriculum so students are prepared to enter interior design programs like the one at HPU.

“The profession of interior design is much more demanding and complex than is represented in popular culture,” says Turpin. “Students who complete these courses in high school should possess a more accurate understanding of the profession as well as a much stronger skill set from which to build upon.”

HPU works to bridge the gap between high school and college by offering opportunities for high school students to explore the School of Art and Design. Faculty members provide tours of the school’s studios and discuss the curriculum with prospective students to present future career options.

Turpin’s goal with both NCDPI and HPU is to best serve students and their potential employers by providing a curriculum and career pathways that transition to the real world.

“The interior design program at HPU frequently uses real world projects in the studio so that students can be exposed to actual clients,” he says. “We also bring in guest speakers from the interior design industry and go on field trips in order to introduce them to the wide range of career options.”