WWU Student Wins National Design Competition/Scholarship

Contact: Kent Smith, Western Washington University associate professor of Art, (360) 650-3423, kent.smith@wwu.edu

BELLINGHAM - Catherine Dimalla, a Western Washington University Graphic Design major from Blaine, has been selected as the winner of the J. Charles Walker & John Brett Buchanan 2012 Educational Scholarship.

Catherine Dimalla

The scholarship is open to students from over 30 design programs across the United States.  Both Walker and Buchanan are emeritus faculty at Kent State University and currently directing the University & College Designers Association Foundation.  In addition to the donors’ alma maters, institutions that have Kent State University graduates as faculty are also eligible to nominate students.  

As a KSU VCD graduate, Western Associate Professor of Arts Kent Smith nominated Dimalla for the competition/scholarship.  In addition to Western Washington University, other participating institutions include programs at California College of Art, Cincinnati, Kansas, Illinois Institute of Technology, Maine College of Art, Milwaukee College of Art + Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Visual Arts, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, University of Southern California, and Utah State University.

As the 2012 winner, Dimalla’s portfolio of work will be on display at the University & College Designers Association national conference in Montreal, Canada in early October. In addition to Dimalla’s cash prize, she and her professor are awarded complimentary conference registration and hotel accommodations for the three-day event.  Both Dimalla and Smith will be honored at the awards ceremony directly following the keynote presentation by Brigatta Bungard, creative director at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

The Outstanding Graduating Senior from the Department of Design, Dimalla plans to work in San Francisco after graduation. She will also have her work on display at the department’s annual portfolio exhibition on Western’s campus on Friday, June 8.  

For additional information on Catherine Dimalla’s award or the WWU Portfolio Exhibit, please call (360) 650-3423.  To view her portfolio, visit http://www.crdimalla.com.