RISD has made the list of the country’s top 25 “best neighbor” colleges and universities, which was released yesterday at the annual conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities in Philadelphia. The 25 leading institutions cited in Saviors of Our Cities: A Survey of Best College and University Civic Partnerships were selected based on demonstrated efforts to make a positive impact on their urban communities through activities such as revitalization, economic and urban development, community service and cultural renewal (see this New York Times blog post for more). Penn and UCLA tied for first place, while RISD ranked 20th in the survey, making it the only college in New England and the only art school in the country to rank in the top 25.

Jared Miller, the founder of a “people-inspired fashion company” that helps emerging businesswomen and artisans in Africa, will visit RISD this Friday, October 16. He’ll talk about the philosophy behind KEZA (the company’s name means “beautiful” in Kinyarwanda, the language of the land), and discuss volunteer and internship opportunities like the one Jenny Lai ’10 AP and Lindsay Perkins ’10 AP did in Rwanda over the summer.

Building on their initial contact with KEZA last Wintersession, when the two Apparel Design majors worked here at RISD to improve designs for paper bead necklaces, Jenny and Lindsay spent the summer in Africa working on product design and development, teaching the women of Buranga to create new types of products, and offering ideas for store displays, marketing and ad campaigns. This semester they’re doing an independent study project with Jewelry + Metalsmithing faculty member Johan van Aswegen to learn more about jewelry technique and design that might be helpful in working with the female artisans who produce work for KEZA.

“I had been looking for a way to help others through my passion for design and the arts, so I am incredibly excited to have found KEZA,” Jenny says. Lindsay adds that her experiences travelling and growing up in Hong Kong and Taiwan opened her eyes “to much need in the world” and left her with “a desire to help in whatever ways I can.” The entire RISD community is invited to Friday’s 8 pm presentation at the Fleet Library at RISD, where Jared will show the work that’s helping African women to help themselves get ahead.

This Saturday, as part of RISD by Design weekend, RISD will celebrate the publication of Infinite Radius: Founding Rhode Island School of Design. Conceived and edited by Dean of Architecture + Design Dawn Barrett and Archivist Andy Martinez, Infinite Radius tells the story of RISD’s founding in 1877 through a series of contemporary scholarly essays, along with reproductions of rare archival photographs, historic course catalogues, previously unpublished manuscripts and transcriptions of archival letters, among other interesting ephemera. Graphic Design faculty member Ootje Oxenaar designed the handsome tome and graduate students in Graphic Design helped to produce it. The Saturday event in the Chace Center begins with a 1 pm panel discussion in the Metcalf Auditorium, followed by a book signing with the authors and designers between 2:15 and 3 in the Chace Center lobby. And even if you can’t be there to pick up a signed copy, the book is available on site and online at risd|works and the risd:store.

Yesterday I spoke at the annual Executive Women’s Leadership conference at Reebok by the invitation of Brown grad Sarah Stuart on my favorite topic of “Creative Leadership.” There I had the chance to meet Trish Karter who is the CEO of one of my favorite sources of cookies (no kidding). Ms. Karter began her life as a studio artist that later discovered how to channel her ability to “think in leaps” as a successful industry consultant, went back to the purity of painting and established that career, and then came back as an entrepreneur running an inspired enterprise as a classic creative leader.

In my many encounters with creative leaders around the world that channel the power of art-thinking and design-thinking, I am convinced we live in a new, exciting time of opportunity for the world of art and design. It’s just begun. -JM

Fans of The Jay Leno Show have no doubt noticed the show’s title and motion graphics that incorporate photos from Leno’s past. It’s all the work of wut it is, the film and broadcast design/production company co-founded by Pete Conlon ‘95 FAV, who designed and art directed the project. Check out the wut it is blog, where Pete takes readers through the design process. Pete and his studio also created the opening titles for Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on Showtime.

Earlier this week, over 150 New York alumni of all ages met for a RISD After Work networking event.  If you’ve never been to one of these, keep your eye on the alumni calendar of events  for one in your area. It’s always great to hear about the strange and wonderful  things that RISD alumni are up to, and it’s a wonderful way to make new connections.

Alumni tossed their business cards into a bowl for a chance at a free ipod shuffle.  Gregory Mastrianni ‘84 GD was the lucky winner!

Jennifer Hom ‘09 IL, a web designer/illustrator at Google, is responsible for today’s Google Doodle of Mahatma Ghandi - it’s Jen’s first doodle for Google. Nice work, Jen!

Thanks to the efforts of Rafael Attias ‘91 GD, a musician and adjunct faculty member, “Indie darlings” Dean & Britta will present 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests at the RISD Auditorium this Saturday, October 3 at 8 pm. The Warhol Museum turned to the husband-and-wife duo to create live music for Warhol’s short, silent b&w screen tests of ’60s art celebrities. And the formula works. Their multimedia performances have been getting great responses at venues like Lincoln Center, the ICA in Boston, MassMoCA and The Walker Art Center. Part of FirstWorks’ Pixilerations [V.6] series (Rafael is on the steering committee), the super-cool concert/screening promises to mesmerize and move you. Tickets are $18 and available through ART TIX.

In Monday’s edition of The Washington Post, columnist John Kelly focused his attention on a public art project in the making by Landscape Architecture Professor Mikyoung Kim. Backed by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities and slated for completion later this fall, her Kaleidoscope Project will provide a “unique artistic enhancement” to the 14th Street Bridge - a well-traveled gateway into the capital city. The idea is to transform the derelict hexagonal tower where the keeper of the draw-bridge once sat into a massive kaleidoscope emanating colorful light.

“The challenge was to create something of interest to drivers” as they’re crossing into Washington, DC, Mikyoung says in the article. “It was to create something that visually you could take in at 20-40 mph, which is a very particular challenge. It’s not like being in a museum.” Too true. But therein lies the beauty of public art - it offers refreshing surprises in unexpected places.

It’s not too late to register for or volunteer at this weekend’s A Better World by Design conference in Providence, which promises to be even better than the first (held last fall). A small group of Brown and RISD students - including Seungkyun Lee ‘10 ID, Joyce Tu MID ‘10 and Willem Van Lancker ‘10 GD - have been working around the clock to pull this three-day event together. Thanks to their efforts, A Better World by Design ’09 will bring 18 inspiring speakers and workshop presenters together with hundreds of enthusiastic, motivated young people who believe in the power of design and critical, art-school thinking to address our most pressing problems - from climate change, to affordable housing, to our dependence on fossil fuels. The conference takes place at RISD, Brown and in downtown Providence and you can register here or sign up to volunteer by e-mailing volunteer@abetterworldbydesign.com.