Draft:Audrey G Bennett

Audrey Grace Bennett (born 1971 in Nassau, Bahamas) is a naturalized American design scholar. She is a 2019 University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the University of Michigan with appointments in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design in the Department of Communication and Media in the School of Literature, Science and the Arts. She is known for her work in cross-cultural, visual communication design research and history and her transdisciplinary contributions to the disciplines of ethnocomputing, food, and health.

Early life and Education
Bennett, at the age of 6, emigrated with her family from Kingston, Jamaica, to the United States. As a child, during her free time, she loved to draw and play make-believe in school. Despite the challenges of growing up in a single-parent family in the inner city, she graduated valedictorian from East Orange High School in New Jersey in 1989. .After attending Dartmouth College and Yale University's School of Art, she became an assistant professor of graphics on the tenure track in the Department of Communication and Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) at age 26. Subsequently, in 2018, she and her husband, Ron Eglash, the father of African Fractals, left RPI to join the faculty at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor as full professors with tenure.

Work and Distinctions
Bennett is celebrated for her innovative contributions to graphic design history, particularly her work with heritage algorithms and bringing to the forefront the African roots of Swiss design She collaborated with Ron Eglash on the development of the award-winning Quilting CSDT and Cornrow Curves CSDT, which merge Indigenous practices with modern design techniques to diversify STEM/STEAM.

Bennett's work has earned her numerous accolades, her distinctions include the 2022 AIGA Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary, the 2015 Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Scholar of the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and the 1997 College Art Association Professional Development Fellowship. Her distinction as an inaugural University and Social Transformation Professor at the University of Michigan, awarded in 2019, further underscores her contributions to academia and social justice.

Bennett's advocacy for cross-cultural literacy in print and digital media is evident in her scholarly work, which aims to address systemic racism by promoting social justice.

Audrey G. Bennett's career reflects her dedication to integrating cultural heritage with modern design, promoting equity and justice through her academic and professional endeavors, and receiving international recognition for her influential work.

Publications
Towards an Autochothonic Black Aesthetic in Graphic Design Pedagogy

Follow the Golden Ratio from Africa to the Bauhaus for a Cross-Cultural Aesthetic for Images

Agentic Design: An Emergent Approach to Generative Justice

Ethnocomputational creativity in STEAM education: A cultural framework for generative justice

Culturally Situated Design Tools: Ethnocomputing from Field Site to Classroom

Heritage algorithms combine the rigors of science with the infinite possibilities of art and design

The African Roots of Swiss Design

Web
Culturally Situated Design Tools: Quilting

Culturally Situated Design tools: Cornrow Curves