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NYSID Commencement Highlights Vladimir Kagan and Penny Bonda

Receiving an honorary doctorate is Interior Design eco contributing editor and "mother of green interiors," Penny Bonda.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 5/11/2009 12:00:00 AM

Vladimir Kagan; Penny Bonda

Choosing a pillar of the field in which it is sending its students into, the New York School of Interior Design has enlisted iconic furniture designer Vladimir Kagan to give the keynote speech at its commencement exercises.

Still going strong into his 80's, Kagan began designing in 1946 and by the 1950's counted Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, and Gary Cooper as clients for his revolutionary sculptural designs. Celebrities like Brad Pitt, Tom Ford, and David Bowie—not to mention the Museum of Modern Art—continue to collect his modernist seating to this day. In addition to his speech, the NYSID will honor Kagan with an honorary doctorate in fine arts.

Also receiving the college's honorary degree is Interior Design eco contributor, Penny Bonda, better known as the "mother of green interiors." Bonda is the founding chair of theU.S. Green Building Council committee for LEED Commercial Interiors and the American Society of Interior Designers Sustainable Design Council, and is the principal developer of REGREEN, the USGBC/ASID green residential renovation and interior remodeling program.

NYSID will graduate a total of 107 students, including seven masters and 42 bachelors candidates. Founded in 1916, NYSID is the only private, non-profit college devoted exclusively to interior design education and related disciplines.