Kent State Fashion Professor Receives Prestigious International Award

The International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) awarded Vincent Quevedo, Kent State University fashion design associate professor, with “The Pearson Prentice Hall Lecturer” award for exceptional service at the Celebrating Inclusivity & Innovation Conference held Nov. 2-6 in Philadelphia.

Pearson/Prentice Hall is one of the leading book publishers in the world and publishes numerous textbooks for the textile, apparel, fashion and retailing markets. Quevedo presented the Pearson/Prentice Hall Distinguished Lecture at the ITAA Annual Conference and was awarded a check for $1,500, sponsored by Pearson/Prentice Hall. He humbly accepted the honor and continues to stay focused.

“You have to be on the cutting edge; right on the edge but not over,” he said. “It’s about balancing on a fragile rope making sure every step is careful. You can’t rest on your laurels, you have to keep going on what you are so passionate about. Fashion is fast moving, one day you are in and the next day you might be out.”

Nominees must demonstrate evidence that he/she has attained professional recognition and conduct in terms of:

• Education (including teaching, research, administration, and outreach) must be the primary focus of the individual’s work.
• Membership in ITAA.
• Record of distinguished contributions to the textile/apparel field over a period of time.
• Ability to deliver a thought-provoking lecture at the annual conference.

ITAA member Dr. Melanie Carrico of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro nominated Quevedo. Nominees are submitted to the ITAA and reviewed by a committee of faculty members from an international scope of colleges and universities. The committee then sends its recommendations to the ITAA for review. Jana Hawley, ITAA President, introduced Quevedo before his presentation at the conference.

“Vince [Quevedo] reaches out beyond the confines of higher education as a speaker and expert consultant to quilters, designers and fiber artists in the Midwest region," Hawley said. “In the classroom, Vince incorporates theory with practice. He describes his teaching philosophy as a ‘work in progress’ – seeking to empower his students to take accountability for their decisions while acting as a guide.”

The prestigious award is given out once a year and has never before been presented to a fashion designer. In the past, the award has gone to textile scientists, sociopsychologists and merchandising researchers.

“There have been many designers who have contributed so much to the organization that I feel privileged to represent all the designers in ITAA,” Quevedo said. “It also shows to prove that design has come a long way to be recognized as having presence and importance in a field that is very visual.”

Quevedo brings more than 20 years of teaching experience to Kent State. His industry experience includes entrepreneurship in a contemporary design company in San Francisco. While teaching at Southern Illinois University, he started a business designing and manufacturing children’s active wear and began his research in art-to-wear fashions and quilting.

Quevedo is a national and international award-winning designer/artist in the areas of fashion design and wearable arts. He received two awards: the ITAA Award for a “Design With Historical Reference” and the Lectra Outstanding Faculty Award for the ITAA Design Exhibition in 2009, which is the highest award one can receive. This is his second time to be awarded this highest honor, and he is the fourth faculty member of Kent State’s Fashion School to receive it.

Quevedo received his Bachelor of Science degree in clothing and textiles and his Master of Science degree in Workforce Education and Development at Southern Illinois University. He received his Master of Fine Arts in textiles/fiber from the University of Nebraska. Quevedo continues to push his work by creating ways to focus on sustainability.

The ITAA is a professional, educational association of scholars, educators and students in the textile, apparel and merchandising disciplines in higher education. More than 20 countries present designs and research at the juried event. The ITAA advances excellence in education, scholarship and innovation, and their global applications. For more information on the ITAA, visit www.itaaonline.org.

For more information about the Fashion School at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/artscollege/fashion.

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Media Contact:
Effie Tsengas, etsengas@kent.edu, 330-672-8398