Mitzi Vernon

Professor

Mitzi Vernon is a professor in the Department of Product Design. She served as Dean of the College of Design from 2015 to 2022, in which time she led the development of the first product design program in the state of Kentucky, as well as spearheading a philanthropic campaign to turn the former Reynolds Building into the new home of the College of Design.

Prior to UK, Vernon has taught at Virginia Tech, California College of Art (CCA), the University of Southern California (USC) and Arizona State University (ASU). Vernon’s career spans 30+ years of leadership, practice and teaching in industrial design, engineering and architecture. As originator of the project, Fields Everywhere, she has been the recipient of several patents and grants supporting her research in using design to promote the public understanding of science. She has led multiple and diverse funded project teams. She was a CreativeMornings speaker in April 2017, delivering Form in Life in Lexington, Kentucky, and one of the inaugural speakers for 2012 TEDx Virginia Tech, delivering Mapping the Invisible. Teaching awards include: Edward Singleton Diggs Scholar; a 2008 Dell ReGeneration International Design Educator; & the prestigious William E. Wine Award for Excellence.