Dorothy Stern

External Coordinator

sternd@algonquincollege.com

613.727.4723 ext. 5747

Dorothy Stern holds a BID (Bachelor of Interior Design) from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada and an MES (Master in Environmental Studies) Area of Concentration: Urban Design from York University in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Dorothy practiced as both an interior designer and urban designer prior to becoming a full-time educator. As an interior designer, Dorothy worked primarily for the Hudson’s Bay Company in their Toronto head office in addition to working as a freelance residential and corporate designer. As an urban designer, Dorothy worked for the Metropolitan Toronto Planning Department as well as overseas as an urban designer for David Best Architect and Town Planner in Tel Aviv, Israel. She has also worked in London England at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.
Dorothy found her passion for the educational process over 20 years ago as a Visiting Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and since then has been an educator on the interior design faculty of Humber College as well as Algonquin College. Dorothy has been at Algonquin College as a full time faculty member since 1996. She was instrumental in spearheading both the interior design program’s Council for Interior Design Accreditation ( formerly FIDER) accreditation ( 2001) as well as its recent transformation from a 3 year diploma program to a 4 year Bachelor of Applied Arts – Interior Design program ( 2004).
Dorothy is the very proud recipient of both a Certificate of Recognition for Exceptional Teaching (1998) from the Algonquin College Students Association and a 2001 Algonquin College Students Association Award for Excellence in Teaching. She was recently appointed a Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly FIDER) Site Visitor. Dorothy is a registered member of the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO), Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) and is a member of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC).
Her areas of interest as an educator are 3Dimensional Design, History of Design in the 20th C., and Theory of Design. Her life-long passion is in both understanding the wonder and complexity of design as a whole as well as the responsibility designers carry with regard to the future design of the built environment, and then sharing this excitement with young designers.

Michele is a Registered Member of ARIDO with IDC, NCIDQ and CSC certifications. He brings a wealth of practical experience and expertise to the interior design program, which he gained from designing and managing large-scale multi-million dollar projects for both private and public sectors.
After graduating from the interior design program at Algonquin College, Michele also acquired knowledge and experience working for two international architecture firms: Douglas J. Cardinal Architects and HOK Canada.
Prior to joining the interior design program as a full time faculty member, Michele ran his own successful design firm where he worked on projects such as the Canadian Pavilion for Expo ’98 in Lisbon; a one hundred thousand square foot relocation of Elections Canada, and automobile dealerships for GM.
Michele believes the balanced education of an applied degree, such as the one offered at Algonquin College, is important to the success of interior design graduates. He believes that, in an innovative field such as this, graduates who wish to obtain leadership roles must not only be able to understand and contribute to the interior design body of knowledge, but also be able to clearly and effectively communicate both their own philosophy of design and their subsequent design concepts.

Tamara is a creative, enthusiastic and high-energy individual with a passion for design in terms of how it shapes the built-environment and how those environments ultimately affect people’s experience.
She believes that interior design is a complex and multi-dimensional discipline which should address the inter-relationships between people and man-made and natural environments. As Interior Designers we need to provide effective functional and aesthetic solutions but we also have the responsibility to question and understand the essence of what we do and how it can enhance the life, safety and welfare of all persons for whom it was intended. To Tamara, the most rewarding aspect of Interior Design is the constant need to explore, question and learn about the challenges of each unique project; using the knowledge and application of evidence-based design, socially responsible solutions will prevail.
In 17 years of professional and academic development, Tamara has held various roles within the field including: project designer, team leader, project coordinator, associate, mentor and currently, educator. Within these roles she has gained significant knowledge and experience in a range of environments including residential, institutional, government, and hospitality with specific specialization in corporate and healthcare environments, most notably, working with the elderly.
Tamara is a Registered Interior Designer and remains active in the professional community. While teaching courses in corporate and healthcare design, she continues to work on select projects and is working toward a degree in Professional Arts in Communications.

Alfred H. Baucom has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Interior Design and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Interior Environments, both earned at Virginia Commonwealth University. His current professional affiliations include ASID Professional (American Society of Interior Designers), Allied Individual Member of The American Institute of Architects, Affiliate ARIDO (Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario), NCIDQ certified (National Council for Interior Design Qualification), Evaluation Committee Member for Council for Interior Design Accreditation, and licensed Certified Interior Designer (CID/VA) in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As a practicing Interior Designer, Mr. Baucom has worked for firms in Houston, Philadelphia, New York City, and Dallas. His design specialties include hospitality & retail design with projects ranging from upscale department stores to resorts and casino hotels. He is the author the book titled Hospitality Design for the Graying Generation (John Wiley & Sons) that focuses on Universal Design in hospitality environments with an emphasis on aging and generational issues. This book was awarded an ASID / Joel Polsky-Fixtures Furniture Academic Achievement Award, Honorable Mention, in 1997. Mr. Baucom has been a full time interior design professor at Central Michigan University, University of North Texas, and Virginia Commonwealth University – School of Fine Arts / Doha in Doha, Qatar.

Robert Tombs is an artist, writer, teacher, and graphic designer. His studies include the foundation year at the School of Art and Design, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, a BFA in printmaking and photography from Mount Allison University and a MFA in graphic design from Yale University School of Art where his thesis was “Light Years: The Glass Paintings of Josef Albers 1918-1932.” Robert has won twenty-three arts awards and is included a number of collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Columbia University, Museum of Fine Art, Houston, and musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. For Robert, teaching design is an integral component of an active studio practice.

Donata Szafian is an Ottawa-based sculptor, painter and designer. Her formal education in art and design is rooted in Hungary. After earning her BA in Sculpting from Janus Pannonius University she attended The Hungarian University of Applied Arts in Budapest and earned her BA in Industrial Design and MA in Jewellery Design. She has worked as a freelance artist-designer in Budapest and London (England). She teaches Graphic Presentation in the Interior Design BA Program and a variety of art courses in the Creative Arts Certificate Program at Algonquin College.

Kurt Espersen-Peters, MRAIC

espersk@algonquincollege.com
613.727.4723 ext. 2438

Kurt is a full-time professor in the Bachelor of Applied Arts-Interior Design programme at Algonquin College. He is originally from Vancouver Island. He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from the University of Victoria and his professional Masters degree in architecture (M.Arch) from the University of Calgary.
Kurt has worked in various architectural offices and has taught at Mount Royal College in the Interior Decorating programme and the University of Calgary in the Master of Architecture programme. He is also a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
His areas of interest as an educator are residential design and construction, sustainable design, and architectural history and theory. While teaching at Algonquin College, Kurt is also completing his Ph.D. at McGill University, researching the architectural theory of the Victorian polymath John Ruskin.

Christine is a part-time professor of interior design and a full time residential architectural designer. Christine received a Bachelor of Interior Design from the University of Manitoba (1986), and proceeded to work across Canada, in health care facility management, and project management for military public relations exhibitions and displays. Following this, Christine became interested in educating the public about design, and developed and taught adult education design classes, while joining a small design firm with an up and coming architect on Vancouver Island. She has since moved her design business from B.C. to northern Alberta, then New Brunswick, and finally to the Ottawa Valley, designing and renovating a myriad of custom homes throughout Eastern Ontario.
In 1999, Christine joined the team of designers dedicated to education at Algonquin College, teaching the technical drafting and building technologies courses in Interior Design. She remains especially fond of perfecting the techniques of hand-drafting, and unraveling the mysteries of the arcane Ontario Building Code.

Chris Eby
ebyc@algonquincollege.com
613.727.4723 ext. 6061

Christopher has over 12 years of diversified experience in all aspects of interior design practice. He has been a member of the Department’s Part-time Faculty for over ten years. Having developed the CAD for Interior Design curriculum from basic principles to a well recognized learning environment, Christopher has assisted the graduates of the program in becoming well recognized and respected members of the Design Community.