The IIDA Oregon Chapter is advanced by the dedication, support and leadership of our community. The Legacy Award recognizes and honors a person, company or organization whose contributions have advanced the Interior Design profession and enriched Interior Design in Oregon. The recipient of this award has exemplified traits as an advocate, mentor, designer innovator and sustainable leader – values held by the IIDA Oregon Chapter.
The  winner of the 2015 IIDA Oregon Chapter Legacy Award is Educator member, Marjorie Marcellus. Over the past three years, Marjorie has prepared and led the Interior Design department at the Art Institute of Portland through CIDA re-accreditation. Though they have not yet received the final report, the visiting accreditors were blown away by the submissions attention to detail, years of planning and preparation, agility of the department to adopt new CIDA standards to meet industry trends, transparency of the department, and the unique collaboration they were able to foster between faculty and students. All of this could not have been achieved without Marjorie’s oversight and rigor in planning.
She spent more than three years preparing for the August 2015 CIDA site visit. Her efforts included weekly planning meetings with faculty to review CIDA standards, curriculum, industry feedback, and student outcomes. She adjusted existing courses and created new courses to meet current trends. Marjorie wrote letters on behalf of the school, advocating for Interior Design Legislation efforts and encouraged students to attend industry events such as IIDA Forums and Capitol Day. She also encouraged professional development among her peers within the AI faculty, exemplifying her exceptional mentorship qualities.
Marjorie has devised and embedded many facets of sustainability into AI’s Interior Design program mission. Many of AI’s courses focus on designing back to the triple bottom line, of people, planet and profit. This was achieved by offering courses in material toxicity awareness, best installation practices for durability, life cycle analysis and LEED Exam preparation. Because of her efforts students graduate with a working knowledge of how to apply principles of sustainable design at an advanced level.
In addition to Marjorie’s work with the Art Institute, She has served on the boards of the Oregon Chapters of IIDA, ASID, and IDC. She is a member of an impressively long list of professional organization including IIDA, ASID, IES, NEWH, IDC, and IDEC.
The IIDA Oregon Chapter thanks Marjorie Marcellus for being a truly dedicated mentor, design innovator, sustainable leader and advocate for the profession of Commercial Interior Design in the State of Oregon.