MIAD’s largest fundraiser for student scholarships, Creative Fusion, is Saturday, May 3. Set-up for the evening begins at 2 p.m. Students, faculty and staff will not have access to the building beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.
Please plan accordingly when visiting your student at the end of the semester.
A daughter’s diabetes diagnosis, childhood struggles with Asperger’s, understanding human identity through anatomy.
These are only a handful of the captivating inspirations for the MIAD 2014 Senior Exhibition, on view April 18 – May 10 throughout MIAD galleries, and generously sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
More than 150 seniors representing MIAD’s Bachelor of Fine Arts majors show their impressive and intriguing work. Gallery Night and Day offer the public opportunities to speak with seniors about their work during an Opening Reception Gallery Night, Friday, April 25, 5 – 9 p.m., and Gallery Day Conversations, Saturday, April 26, 1 – 5 p.m. Regular hours for the Senior Exhibition are Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
A letter from Dean of Students Tony Nowak –
Dear Parent,
On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a comprehensive and far-reaching program designed to ensure everyone has access to affordable health insurance. A key component of the ACA is the requirement that effective January 1, 2014, all United States Citizens must have an ACA-qualified health insurance plan.
Continue reading Student Health Insurance and the Affordable Care Act
A letter from Dean of Students Tony Nowak –
Dear Parents,
MIAD will be conducting HOUSING REGISTRATION WEEK during the week of March 3 – 7, 2014. This year’s Housing Priority Registration Deadline is March 21, 2014. An information table will be located in the lower level of the main lobby.
Hours are:
Monday, March 3: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Tuesday, March 4: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Wednesday, March 5: 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 6: 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.
The week after Spring Break the information table will again be open during the same hours as well as Friday, March 21, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
We can’t believe it’s already time to start planning for graduation! Students recently received information on preparing for graduation, which can be found online. As graduation approaches, the site will be updated continuously.
Graduation is Saturday, May 10, 2014. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, 144 E. Wells Street 53202, and is approximately two hours long.
Students receive 6 tickets, and are able to request more.
Questions regarding graduation can be answered by Ricky Heldt (rickyheldt@miad.edu).
Hello MIAD Parents,
It is hard to believe that it is tax filing time, and time to file the 2014-2015 FAFSA. Kristina and I will be available to assist you through the 2014-2015 financial aid process again this year.
During the first week of the spring semester, I will be sending an email to all our current students reminding them that it is once again time to file their FAFSA for the 2014-2015 academic year. The 2014-2015 FAFSA application is very similar to the FAFSA 2013-2014 application. Let’s review:
Continue reading It’s time to file the 2014-2015 FAFSA
During spring semester’s Major Declaration Day, your student will get a formal welcome and introduction into the major they are considering joining. There is time to ask questions and discover what is awaiting your student as they enter their major in the fall. This session will also introduce students to the faculty member from that major who will end up being their advisor throughout their remaining educational career at MIAD. The day ends with dinner, and students officially declaring a major.
What if your son or daughter is unsure of which major to choose? Does selection of a specific course lock them into a major? Is being uncertain about a major normal?
If you student is unsure about which major to register for that day, that is okay. They have plenty of time to make that decision.
Hailey, Cathy and Brian Cass enjoy the opening of the 2013 Research, Practice and Methods First-Year Exhibition (RPM), November 13 – 26 in the Fourth Floor Gallery.
View images from the RPM opening and the Currents, Tendencies opening – an exhibit featuring students from all years reacting to the Current Tendencies III exhibition on view at the Haggerty Museum at Marquette University. More information on the RPM and Currents, Tendencies exhibitions is available here.
MIAD’s Winter Weekend featuring the 2013 Student/Alumni Art & Design Sale and Parent/Partner Day was a success, with the highest number of artists participating in the sale, and more than 100 family members and students joining in Parent/Partner Day. View images from MIAD’s Winter Weekend.
This month, all students meet with their advisors and register for spring classes. Juniors and seniors register on November 8; freshmen and sophomores register on November 15.
Read further to see a bulleted list by class year of key questions and topics your student and advisor should discuss this month. These meetings are integral to your student’s academic and professional success. Continue reading Key questions during your student’s advising this month
This year, MIAD’s annual Parent/Partner Day on December 7 is part of MIAD’s Winter Weekend. All parents, students and alumni are invited to participate in the activities. These include the fourth annual Student/Alumni Art & Design Sale December 5 – 7 – an event eagerly awaited by the Milwaukee community – and Parent/Partner’s day of roundtables, workshops, tours and demonstrations on December 7. The Third Ward’s Christmas in the Ward activities are also that weekend, adding to the festive atmosphere.
Please encourage your student to participate in the Student/Alumni Art & Design Sale through the link in their River Rat e-newsletter, and watch for more information for parents on engaging with the entire MIAD community. Continue reading for the day’s schedule and links to an RSVP form (preferred but not required); a story about the Art & Design Sale; and the Historic Third Ward activities.
Continue reading Tell us you’re attending Parent/Partner Day Dec. 7; Student/Alumni Art & Design Sale
“It’s great to be open and see that there are so many connections between majors,” said a Foundations student during Majors Dialogue on October 3.
Majors Dialogue is a unique night when Foundations students get a further look at the different majors MIAD offers, with students and alumni from each major describing the program, offering tips and answering questions.
Hearing what each program of study has to offer helps students to make an informed decision before declaring their majors in the spring.
Finding the connections between majors was a common theme of the night, as Foundations students discovered the fine art aspects of Communication Design and Illustration, and the design aesthetics found in Painting and Drawing.
Another Foundations student added, “Hearing current students talk about their work and classes made me realize you can take a class not in your major and it will still be useful for your own work – everything’s valuable.”
During the week of October 28 – November 1, your student will be asked by his or her professor to take a Student Satisfaction Inventory – a completely confidential electronic survey that asks questions about everything from their course of study to their quality of life at MIAD.
The last SSI was given to students in Fall 2011, the third of our biannual survey. The results provided much to celebrate. At the same time, they identified specific areas where we were able to improve the value and quality of our students’ educational and student life experience.
Some of the changes include: Continue reading Encourage your student to complete the 2013 Student Satisfaction Survey
At one time or another, almost all college students experience some form of stress. Some may experience it early in their college experience; others at various times and closer to their graduation.
But there are two kinds of stress: The kind that fuels inspiration, drives work and motivates students to succeed; and the kind that becomes overwhelming and impedes students’ progress in college.
It’s important to note that stress is a process that builds, and it is therefore more effective to intervene early rather than later. Without help, stress can become overwhelming. This column is intended to help you understand how we help your students, and how you, in turn, can help your son or daughter manage college. Continue reading Helping your student with stress
Sophomores from all of MIAD’s majors gathered with faculty and alumni to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the “Sophomore Experience,” ask questions about their majors and focus, and hear advice from successful alumni.
Core Coordinator and faculty Nicholas Frank, who is integral to shaping experiences designed specifically for sophomores, advised students that they are constantly in a period of definition, during which asking questions is critical to realizing the path they will take.
Alumni advised students to:
At MIAD, we pride ourselves on our inquiry-based environment, driven by you with our faculty. As we head toward a new academic year, we welcome all of you, especially our new students, and would like to share news and questions we’ve heard from some of you.
What do people think about my potential? The first internationally renowned creative to visit through the MIAD Creativity Series, Mark Rios, principal of Rios Clementi Hale Studios in Los Angeles, said the following after spending several days engaging with students across many majors:
“I’ve visited many art and design schools around the world and found an atmosphere and confidence at MIAD that are unique…. Students have a clear and well-deserved sense of themselves and their work, and that is a rare thing.”
As we excitedly await the arrival of your students, we’d like to share with you a communication your students recently received. The mandatory health insurance program all full-time MIAD students have been enrolled in for the past five years will not be renewed this coming year. The reason for the non-renewal is two-fold.
• First, the cost of the program – more than $700 for the coming year – makes it too expensive for a secondary plan.
• Second, because of rising costs and changes precipitated by PPAACA (Obamacare), the vast majority of our students are now enrolled in a major medical plan through their families, making a secondary plan unnecessary.
For most of you, this will come as a relief because you or your student won’t have to pay for a plan they don’t need. For some of you, this news means your student is without insurance for the coming year. Measures have been taken to ensure healthcare for all MIAD students.
Continue reading From Dean of Students Tony Nowak: Student Health Insurance
Associate Professor of Industrial Design John Caruso, a nationally renowned expert on design thinking, sat down with the Milwaukee BizTimes to discuss how design thinking can change a company. Design thinking continues to break industry boundaries and has become a more critical component of companies’ innovation strategies.
“Design thinking is all about process, Caruso said, and openness to exploring innovative ideas never before envisioned, no matter how absurd or impractical they may appear at first. Through the creative problem-solving process, which seeks to make lateral connections between seemingly disparate ideas, industrial designers help companies improve their products and services to fit the needs and preferences of consumers as best as possible.”
Maintaining communication with your son or daughter when they are in college is important, whether they are a first-year student or a senior. College students want to be on their own, while, at the same time, often continuing to turn to you for support. By maintaining open communication with your student, you will have a better understanding of what they are going through and how you can offer support when it is needed.
Following are tips for communicating with your student to facilitate an open exchange of information. Below them are typical conversation topics that may arise throughout the year and how you can respond. Continue reading Openly communicating throughout the year
“Milwaukee would not be Milwaukee without the Third Ward,” said Manuja Waldia ’14 (Communication Design) while discussing her winning design for a map of Milwaukee. “The inspiration came from the Third Ward and the awesome art scene that it envelopes.”
Waldia’s creativity and love of the Third Ward, where MIAD is located, led her to recently place first in Mapping MKE, a competition for Milwaukee Magazine that asked participants to create maps of Milwaukee that are not necessarily geographical, yet depict elements that make Milwaukee special.
Milwaukee jumped 13 spots from last year to be named the 6th Best College Destination for mid-size metros from 2012-2013 by the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) College Destinations Index.
AIER CDI includes the top 75 towns and cities in the United States for college students, based on a larger evaluation of the 227 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with student populations of 15,000 or more.
“At a time when approximately half of current college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, the pros and cons of a particular college destination should be an important factor in making a college selection,” said Julie Zhu, the AIER research analyst who oversaw compilation of the Index.
Continue reading Milwaukee named 6th best college destination
Study abroad programs allow students unique and enriching opportunities to broaden their world-view. This summer, MIAD offers three programs:
Follow the Paris, Ireland and Altered Landscapes blogs to discover students’ study abroad experiences.
