SCC Interior Design Program Achieves Design Icon Status

Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Design Icon Interiors graphic

Scottsdale Community College (SCC) announced that its Interior Design program has received the Design Icon Award for Interiors by Sources for Design, an influential trade digital design magazine for architects, interior designers, builders and landscape professionals in Arizona.

The online magazine honors Design Icons of the profession by featuring a portfolio of their greatest work, as part of its education-based Back to School issue.

Lawrence Lake, editor in chief of Sources for Design, said SCC’s program was being honored for its historic commitment to training interior designers. “The program has had years of quality leadership and created an evolving program that meets the needs of its students and the design community,” he commented. “The program has trained some of the best residential interior designers in our community.”

“I have worked with and honored so many graduates of SCC that it was a logical choice. My respect for Gerald King and Chuck Cooper and their passionate commitment to their students made the choice easy. And my commitment to supporting emerging talent made the choice personal,” said Lake.

The program was recently named a Center of Excellence for Interior Design, offering a rigorous two-year program culminating with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Interior Design. The program – the longest-running interior design educational program in Arizona – focuses on residential design, emphasizing design fundamentals, design technology and real-world design experiences. 

Students earning an associate’s degree in interior design through the program have the option of obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University while remaining on the SCC campus, providing students the convenience and cost savings of continuing their education without the need to relocate.

Rachel Simmons, SCC’s new program director for Interior Design, said “Becoming an Icon recognizes the strong reputation the SCC Interior Design program has for providing a high-quality design education and graduating talented and successful future designers. As a graduate of our program, former adjunct faculty, and now program director, I am honored to have been a part of this program on many levels.