Tara McCrackin

Tara McCrackin

Interim President of KCAD
Associate Professor of Interior Design
President's Office
Phone: (616) 254-9303
Email: [email protected]

Education

• MEd, Grand Valley State University, Adult and Higher Level Learning
• BFA, Kendall College of Art and Design, Interior Design
• BA, Western Michigan University, Art Education

Biography

Tara McCrackin, NCIDQ, IIDA, IDEC, LEED AP ID+C is an Assistant Professor of Interior Design and the current Program Chair of Interior Design at KCAD. She started her design career in 1997, working in the corporate office interiors. She has had the pleasure of designing spaces for Steelcase, Inc., and was the lead designer on the initial WorkSpring in Chicago, IL. This was a co-working space incorporating state-of-the-art technologies and focusing on hospitality in the corporate environment. Pursuing her passion for sustainability, Tara had the pleasure of working on the Rackspace Headquarters space in San Antonio, TX. This space was awarded a LEED Gold certification. Tara started her teaching career at KCAD in 2000. She has been active as a board member of the IIDA MI Chapter, and has demonstrated her commitment to furthering the recognition of the profession by being an active member of the NCIDQ Champion program. She is a CEU Reviewer for the Interior Design Continuing Education Council, Inc. (IDCEC), one of ten in North America. She holds a B.A. in Art Education from Western Michigan University, B.F.A. in Interior Design from Kendall College of Art and Design, and a M.Ed. in Adult and Higher Level Learning from Grand Valley State University.

Presentations

• interdisciplinary panel
  McCrackin, T., AIA, "AIA - Abstract Series," (June 2018).
• Paper
  McCrackin, T., Configura Annual Report, "Successful integration of CET Designer into the KCAD Interior Design curriculum for Configura," Configura, (March 2018).
• Oral Presentation
  McCrackin, T., IIDA MI NCIDQ Roadshow, "Benefits of NCIDQ certification," NCIDQ, (March 2015).
• Oral Presentation
  McCrackin, T., FSU FCTL Fireside Chat series, "Beautiful Blackboard," Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI, (November 2014).
• Oral Presentation
  McCrackin, T., Bishop Distributing ArtPrize Sales Event, "Trends in Design," (October 2014).
• Oral Presentation
  McCrackin, T., 2014 CET Designer Conference, "Using CET Designer in Universities," (October 2014).