Design educator and graphic designer Jessica Wexler is the new chair of the Undergraduate Communications Design Department within the School of Design at Pratt Institute. Wexler has a breadth of experience as an educator and professional practitioner. She most recently served as an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of the Graphic Design Department in the School of Art and Design at Purchase College, SUNY. She has taught, designed curricula and coordinated faculty within diverse public, private and for-profit institutions for more than a decade. Based in New York City, Wexler established the collaborative studio, Workshop Project, in 2013 as a space devoted to reimagining design pedagogy as a form of professional practice. Before that she headed the design partnership, Greenblatt-Wexler, serving arts-related and cultural institutions. As chair, Wexler leads a department of more than 550 students students and over 100 faculty. Anita Cooney, dean of the School of Design, says that Wexler’s “extensive experience in design practice and communications design pedagogy will be invaluable in working with faculty to prepare students to succeed in the rapidly changing landscape for professionals in all areas of communications design. Her arrival coincides with the relocation of the graduate communications design program to the Brooklyn campus and affords Jessica and graduate chair, Santiago Piedrafita, the opportunity for a rich collaboration between the two departments.”
