Deborah Shmerler
Associate Professor Emerita, Graphic Design
Deborah Shmerler received her MFA degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1998. She has been teaching at The University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville since the fall of 2002 where she is currently an Associate Professor of Graphic Design. Shmerler has been an invited lecturer to several national and international venues to speak about issues such as: cross-disciplinary projects, design and creativity, design and the community, expressive typography, and the collaborative student workshop experience. Her current work with the Smart Communities Initiatives is motivated by a desire to forge healthy and sustainable lifestyle communities. She achieves this by merging 20 years of branding experience with Design Thinking methods. Over the years her design work has received numerous awards and has recognized by the AIGA, The CT Art Directors Club, UCDA, The American Design Awards, Step, Rotovision Books, as well as Print and How. She is an AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Design) Fellow, the recipient of an Ellen McClung Berry professorship and a 2012 UT Chancellors award for Multidisciplinary Research. In 2013, she was honored by UT with a James R. and Nell W. Outstanding Teaching award. Deborah is currently chair of the SOA Graduate Committee.
