We’d like to take a moment to pay tribute to three friends of the College we lost recently. Their impact on NYSID and its students will endure for years to come.

Alexander C. Cortesi

Alexander C. Cortesi, who was known as “Sandy” by his friends, passed away at his home on April 5. Mr. Cortesi joined the Board of Trustees at the New York School of Interior Design in 1996, and served as Chairman from 2003 until 2010. In 2013, Mr. Cortesi was named trustee emeritus. Mr. Cortesi led NYSID’s Board of Trustees during a transformational period, during which NYSID began its three-year professional-level Master of Fine Arts program; launched its Institute for Continuing and Professional Studies; and in 2010, Mr. Cortesi’s final year as chairman, NYSID opened its midtown Graduate Center facility. He will be missed by the many members of the NYSID community who he impacted through his involvement.

Judith Gura

On Sunday, April 12, longtime NYSID instructor, curator, and design historian Judith Gura passed away at her home. On February 20, NYSID had the honor of opening the last show she curated, “Making Connections: Harvey Probber Furniture 1945-1985.” Ms. Gura’s knowledge of design history made her an exceptional educator and curator. She started teaching at NYSID in 2001, and taught numerous courses including Historical Styles, Design History and Theory, and multiple study-tours both in the US and abroad. She contributed deeply to exhibitions at NYSID, curating “What Modern Was” and “Rescued, Restored, Reimagined: New York’s Landmark Interiors” in addition to her final show. NYSID President David Sprouls, says, “Her legacy lives on through the work of the many practicing designers that she taught in her design history courses at the College. The greater community will continue to benefit from the numerous books and articles she wrote on the history of design. We have been lucky to count her as a teacher, colleague, and for many of us, a friend.”

Michael Sovern

The College honors the memory of longtime friend and supporter Michael Sovern, the spouse of NYSID Chairman Emeritus Patricia Sovern. He passed away on January 20. In his obituary, the New York Times called him “an ebullient law professor who, as president of Columbia University. . .shored up the school’s finances and brought about divestment from companies doing business in South Africa.” A part of his legacy endures at NYSID in the form of the annual lecture he and his wife endowed, the Michael I. and Patricia M. Sovern Lecture on Design. NYSID President David Sprouls says, “We are grateful for everything Michael did for this College, and higher education in general. He will be missed.”