The 2012 Jefferson Award Public Service Civic Engagement Goes to Professor Martin Linder

February 24, 2012

The 2012 Jefferson Award goes to Professor Martin Linder, an associate professor in Design and Industry, whose leadership and mentoring in industrial and graphic design reaches more than 160 elementary to college-aged students each semester.

His well-known Industrial Design Outreach Program, known fondly as iDo, began in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood to teach a greater number of ethnically diverse, low-income students’ hands-on interdisciplinary design.

iDo projects provide high-school students with experiences that foster curiosity, promote creativity, and build self-confidence. By developing and delivering design curriculum to high-school students, university students gain experiences that promote teamwork; enhance communication, organization, and presentation skills; and provide a forum for participants to give back to their community.

Since its inception, SF State students have provided more than 10,000 hours of community service to public school students, reaching hundreds of students. One project, The Community Bench, as been exhibited at the De Young Museum and is permanently on display in the San Francisco Mayor’s Office in City Hall.

Additionally, Linder’s work in the design of security systems for airport passengers is currently being used in airports worldwide, and his “Florabella” hospital waiting room seating designs demonstrate what nominator Jane Veeder calls, “Martin’s commitment to areas that contribute to the greater world community.”

About the Jefferson Award for Public Service Civic Engagement
Established in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft Jr. and Sam Beard as a 'Nobel Prize' for public service, this initiative recognizes individuals who make a difference on a daily basis in their local communities.

Read more about Marty's work with the K-12 students

Image copyright Herman Miller. Read more about Marty's work with Herman Miller.