The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) congratulates Pascal Malassigné, FIDSA on his retirement from teaching after more than 40 years, including for 31 years at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD).
An IDSA Fellow for 21 years, Malassigné served as the first president of IDSA’s Design Foundation. His service to IDSA also includes positions of District Vice President, Education Council Vice President, and Secretary/Treasurer on IDSA’s Board of Directors. In addition to being a dedicated volunteer and member of IDSA for decades, he is also a member of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (HFES) and the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America (RESNA).
In 2020, Malassigné was honored with IDSA’s Education Award.
From John Caruso, IDSA, Professor at MIAD, on LinkedIn:
I’d like to take this opportunity and thank Pascal Malassigné for his friendship, collegiality and commitment to the product design program at MIAD. Pascal recruited me to teach at MIAD from the University of Notre Dame when he was head of department. We knew each other from our active participation in IDSA. It was clear that Pascal was the face of an excellent design program in Milwaukee. He recruited me because he was winning so many awards and then he saw my students starting to win so many awards so he thought I would be a good fit. It certainly has been! He brought professionalism and dignity to the college, program and the industry at large. His structure and leadership has been exemplary and is the base for our continued success with current students, alumni and corporate sponsorship.
Widely respected in our field, Pascal developed long term relationships with companies. Through daily and consistent recruitment, he substantiated sponsored projects, materials donation, money and time… many of which continue to this day.
Students will recall a popular Pascal saying, ‘When you are successful, remember us and give back to develop student projects,’ and they have!
Pascal also worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for over 35 years where his passionate contribution has been nothing short of admirable. His dedication in supporting countless wounded service women and men led Pascal to design wheelchair, prone carts and shower accessibility devices to improve their quality of life. His shower-commode wheelchair design holds two patents, amongst many others.
To many outside Wisconsin, Pascal has left a lasting impression having been the 2020 IDSA Education Award Recipient. We are proud to carry on the legacy and impact Pascal has left on MIAD. His stewardship lead to the growth and elevation of the product design program and we are truly thankful.
With enormous gratitude,
John Caruso
