Last Friday, May 16, Pratt Institute awarded designer Karim Rashid with an honorary doctorate as a part of the design school’s commencement ceremony.
Rashid said, “I am ecstatic to receive an honorary doctorate from Pratt Institute becase Pratt played a formative role in my career.” Rashid cited that when he was still a young designer in 1993, he was hired by Peter Barna, the chair of the industrial department at Pratt to teach in the school. This opportunity helped Rashid acquire a US Visa and a Mac computer which was also the same device that he used to launch his solo career.
The decision to award Rashid with an honorary doctorate came from the recognition that he is one of the most innovative and prolific designers of his generation and that he has been able to influence both the physical and the virtual landscape.
Rashid has produced more than 3,000 designs, received 300 awards and has completed projects in more than 40 countries around the globe. His works are also exhibited in 20 permanent museum collections.
“ Today, I might not be in NYC or even have the career I have if it was not for Pratt and its inspiring faculty.” Rashid said. He adds, “Pratt has always been a leader, a prescient school with a global vision, with rigor and understanding that creativity is sacred and must be nurtured, molded. The personalized visions, each of us has is original and can shape and change this world.”
Aside from Rashid, honorary degrees were also awarded to Arnold Lehman, the director of Brooklyn Museum; Michael Kimmelman, NY Times Architecture Critic and multi-media artist Yoko Ono.
