Dr. Dana Vaux
Areas of Expertise
- Interior Design
- Pedagogy
- Product Design
Biography
Dana Vaux ‘s love of interior design comes together where the physical environment and people intersect. Her interdisciplinary Ph.D. emphasized Architecture, Design, and Environmental History. She has professional memberships in Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) and American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Her publications include articles in the Journal of Interior Design and several international journals. She has co-authored two books used in classrooms: Practical Ethics for Architecture and Interior Design Practices and Research Methods for Interior Design: Applying Interiority, as well as chapters for other books and numerous conference proceedings. She won the 2022 Midwest Regional Best of Award for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning-Pedagogy from (IDEC), the 2021 Midwest Regional Best of Award for Scholarship of Design Research-History and Theory from (IDEC), and the 2019 Best Paper in Family Studies/Human Development from the American Association of Family & Consumer Services (AAFCS). Receiving the 2021-2022 College of Business & Technology Outstanding Faculty Award: Scholarship Tenured, she enjoys interdisciplinary research that focuses on people-place connections and the cultural-historical meanings of place.
Education
Ph.D., Interdisciplinary: Architecture, Design, Environmental History, Washington State University
M.A., Interior Design, Washington State University
B.A., Interior Design, Washington State University
Area of expertise and research
- Interface of current culture
- Place theory in the built environment
- Design pedagogy
How did you become interested in this subject?
I married into a Construction Company. My husband was working as the third generation in a family company his grandfather had started. After a few decades of working in the business, remodeling and building our own homes, I decided to return to school to obtain the degree for the work I was already doing.
Why did you go into teaching?
When I was earning my master’s degree, I realized how important research is to understanding how to best design for the health and well-being of people, and how much we need to know to design the best interiors possible. I wanted to be part of designing the future and help emerging designers understand the importance of research to good design.
