DAAP Points of Pride
Student Success
At DAAP, our students and faculty continue to earn national recognition, drive innovation, and shape the future of our cities and industries. Recent highlights include:
$361,000 Awarded in Co-op Ambassador Scholarships
DAAP students received over $360,000 in scholarship funding to live and work in 13 metropolitan areas across the U.S., helping to expand the impact of UC’s nationally ranked cooperative education program.Inaugural Mayor’s Future Urban Leaders Award
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval presented the first-ever Mayor’s Future Urban Leaders Award to Urban Planning graduate Lily Sider for her visionary capstone project, Affordable, Accessible Urbanism, celebrating her commitment to equitable city development.Venice Biennale Representation
Christoph Klemmt, faculty in the School of Architecture and Interior Design, led a design project that was featured at the world-renowned Venice Biennale, showcasing DAAP’s global reach and thought leadership.DAAPworks 2025: Celebrating Capstone Excellence
The Spring semester concluded with the annual DAAPworks exhibition. Over 40 students were named Directors’ Choice Award recipients, and 17 additional graduates received recognition from external organizations and industry leaders. Among them:- 1819 Innovation Hub Award: Alexandra Fernholz – Nugget
- Mayor’s Future Urban Leaders Award: Lily Sider – Affordable, Accessible Urbanism
- Live Well HCD Award: Kailyn Kelly - Stitch | Shahar Ahmad - Hero Kits
- Goodwill in Fashion Award: Mackenzie Reed - Dear Mackenzie
- SEGD Awards: The Society for Experiential Graphic Design
Couldn’t attend in person? You can still view the full DAAPworks 2025 exhibit virtually on our website. Click on "UC News" below to read the various news articles written highlighting the talent of our DAAP students.
DAAP in the News
Celebrating DAAP Stories Featured Across the University
DAAP students, faculty, and alumni continue to make headlines, not just within our college, but across the entire University of Cincinnati. From groundbreaking research and award-winning design projects to impactful community partnerships and co-op experiences that span the globe, the stories coming out of DAAP are capturing attention university-wide.
In addition to current achievements, our alumni are also making waves as they lead innovative startups, shaping cities through architecture and planning, revolutionizing the fashion and design industries, and pushing boundaries in the arts. Their continued success speaks to the power of a DAAP education and its lasting impact beyond graduation.
We’re proud to share recent features that have appeared on UC News, the university’s central news platform, highlighting the creativity and real-world contributions of our DAAP community.
Click on "UC News" below to read the stories.
Work Hard Play Well
How UC co-op turned one student’s passion for play into a career opportunity at Lego.
NEXT Innovation Scholar spotlight: Yasmine Shaban
A place where curiosity and innovation can flourish, the NEXT Innovation Scholars (NIS) program at the University of Cincinnati empowers a new generation to become leaders.
PHOTOS: 2025 DAAP Fashion Show
Over 150 student fashion designs wowed the crowd as part of DAAPFASH25.
PHOTOS: DAAPworks 2025
Over 450 student projects were on display at DAAPworks 2025.
DAAPworks reveals 2025 Innovation Awards – discover the winning designs
Innovation took center stage at DAAPworks 2025, an event showcasing the brilliant work of graduating seniors at the University of Cincinnati.
UC DAAP students recognized for achievement in cooperative education
Each spring, the University of Cincinnati’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies honors students for outstanding achievement in experiential learning.
UC students recognized for achievement in undergraduate research
Each spring, the University of Cincinnati’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies honors students in experiential learning programs.
Two students were recognized for outstanding achievement in terms of the impact or depth of their undergraduate research experience. Their stories help to illustrate why the University of Cincinnati is a top five university for co-ops and internships according to U.S. News Best Colleges rankings.
Student filmmaker's animation movie 'The Wreckoning' debuts at Zimmer Hall
Daniel Ruff found his passion for animation early, but sharpens his skills in new degree program.
2024 SVDP/DAAP fashion show breaks fundraising record at $275K
'RetroFittings' charitable fashion show gives UC students a platform for creative expression.
UC DAAP students lead the way in sustainable rain garden design
Campus initiative bridges ecology and education to help reshape urban landscapes.
New effort aims to keep unsold clothing donations out of the landfill
UC fashion design student Wesley Beisel guest on WVXU panel to discuss sustainable fashion.
Replace this text component with your accordion's content.
University of Cincinnati announces new leader for prestigious art and design college
UC alum Stephanie Pilat named dean of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning.
Digital art therapy application designed to improve mood in AYA brain cancer survivors
UC, UNC experts collaborate on new study.
Baylee Schmitt crocheted the childhood bedroom she shared with her twin
UC employee creates art out of memories and chain stitches.
ADAAPT: Growing Student Ideas
UC professor opens doors for DAAP students to expand their product development & market their ideas.
The long and complicated — and expensive — effort to replace lead lines in the U.S.
Research guides the order of lead pipe removal here, says UC’s Christopher Auffrey.
Building reuse is goal in board game
Holding Pattern game lends a creative approach for collective action on vacant building reuse.
Bearcat alums become Tiger’s footwear designers
A degree in industrial design from DAAP led two UC alumni to the design team for Sun Day Red.
Alum John Deatrick creates engineering, art education scholarships
After a long, impactful career in the public sector, Deatrick returned to Cincinnati in 2022 after the death of his wife Linda Deatrick, MAE ‘74. He decided to support the place that had been a constant thread in their lives.
Asha Ama Bias-Daniels crafts costumes for Cincinnati Ballet's 'Mercurial Landscapes'
UC DAAP alumna brings a unique blend of artistry, innovation and cultural heritage to the stage.
Generous alumnus leaves lasting legacy for UC DAAP students, library
Architect designates IRA for endowed scholarship fund and digitizing Cincinnati archival materials.
Tattooing offers creative career path for DAAP grads
Both graduates from UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) — Carter in 2003 and Dasha in 2005 — are quick to admit that tattooing for a living wasn’t the plan when they met at UC and married in 2005.
Academic Updates
New programs have officially launched, expanding DAAP's academic reach at the graduate levels.
Micro-credential in Design Strategy
Starting fall semester 2025, DAAP will offer a pathway on entrepreneurship for both Master of Design and Master of Fine Arts graduate programs. This pathway includes an embedded 12-credit hour certificate, enabling students to earn entrepreneurship skills through a certificate integrated into the established curriculum.
Alumni Updates
Alumni Recognition
One DAAP alumnus was recognized this year by the UC Alumni Association at their annual celebration.
Outstanding Alumni Award
Outstanding Alumni Award honorees represent 13 colleges, plus the unique training ground of UC Athletics. They are selected on the basis of their contributions and achievements as alumni.
The founder, owner and principal of the architectural firm that bears his name, John Senhauser, FAIA, started his own practice in 1979. Over the decades since, his firm has been honored by architects and builders with more than 80 design awards. He was named a Fellow of The American Institute of Architects (FAIA) in 1995, received AIA Ohio’s Gold Medal Firm Award four years later, and their AIA Ohio Gold Medal in 2009. Nationally known for his client-focused and environmentally responsive approach to design, John’s organization includes individual and multi-family homes as well as commercial and cultural projects. Driven by a strong commitment to preservation, he dedicated 27 years to serving his community as a Board member and later as Chair of the City of Cincinnati’s Historic Conservation Board, in addition to being a member of the Society for the Preservation of Music Hall. He is a former adjunct professor of design at DAAP, a regular volunteer for the School of Architecture and Interior Design critiques, and currently a member of Cincinnati’s Urban Design Review Board and UC’s Design Review Committee.
Additional Alumni Highlights
UC alum mentors DAAP student at Kimley-Horn co-op
DAAP student explores career options, mountain ranges.
Alumni to be honored at gala recognizing UC Black excellence
The 2025 Onyx & Ruby Gala will celebrate excellence within the University of Cincinnati’s Black community, honoring six recipients at the African American Alumni Affiliate’s annual awards.
The reuse revolution: Your guide to upcycled and sustainable fashion brands
Two UC alums featured in the L.A. Times for their focus on sustainable fashion.
Chatterjee Global Lecture Series
Ann Hamilton - Recent Public Projects
- Wednesday, October 22
- 5pm
- Aronoff 4400
- Reception to follow
Ann Hamilton trained in textile design at the University of Kansas, and later received an MFA from Yale University in sculpture. While the underlayment of her practice is in the structures and material processes of weaving her work takes form as large-scale site-responsive installations, performance collaborations, print media, and public projects - most notably the 2017 project for the MTA subway at the World Trade Center. Her work’s multiple forms often explore the relationship between language structures and tactile materiality. Whether comprised of a building four stories high or confined to the surface of a thimble, the qualities of these spaces, objects, and their atmospheres evoke an awareness of the site and the scale of the body to ask how, in a technologically extended world, the literacies of the hand and embodied knowledge matter, and the possibility for cultivating attention in a hyper distracted world of information.
Questions on charitable contributions can be directed to:
For questions regarding charitable contributions, donation processes, or how to support DAAP initiatives, please reach out using the contact information below. We’re happy to assist and grateful for your generosity.
