2024 – 2025 Friends & Donors Report
Your support of our students enables them to change their lives, and ours.
Proven Outcomes; Value-Driven Creative Excellence
A Message From MIAD’s President
We are surrounded today by discussions about the value of higher education. At MIAD, we are fortunate that we do not have to look far to experience the value of our programs, and the valued generosity of you, our donors.
Strengthened by your investment in MIAD, we invest, daily and strategically, in living the college’s Core Values of Courage, Integrity, Kindness, Community, Innovation and Inclusion. In doing so, we provide access to careers and community, with proven outcomes and a lifetime of value-driven creative excellence.
Thank you for your support of our mission, which allows us to pursue a purposeful path with confidence and hope.
Jeffrey Morin
MIAD President
Olivia Nava landed a fiercely competitive internship at athletic footwear and apparel brand Nike. Nava stood out amongst 70,000 applicants as one of 200 interns at Nike during summer 2025. Receiving the internship, says Nava, made her feel shocked, grateful, “accomplished in the work I have done so far and trust in my practice.”
Olivia Nava ’26 (Communication Design)
When preparation meets opportunity, our students rise — proving that a MIAD education equips them to stand out among tens of thousands. Your support makes this possible.
Diverse gallery exhibitions celebrated personal narratives, cultural impact
MIAD’s Brooks Stevens Gallery, Frederick Layton Gallery, 160 Gallery, MIAD Gallery at The Ave and numerous pop-up spaces celebrated the importance of personal narrative and cultural impact in 2023-24. From graduating students to visiting makers to iconic designers, MIAD’s galleries offered our communities a rich look into the lives and practices of significant creatives.
“Lois Ehlert: A Creative Life” opened – the most comprehensive exhibition of the iconic children’s book illustrator, designer and Layton alum (’57). →
“Growing Resistance: Untold Stories of Milwaukee’s Community Guardians” exhibited everyday voices of resistance and resilience around environmental injustice from some of Milwaukee’s most historically underrepresented neighborhoods and in a vast variety of artistic forms. →
British-West-Indian collagist, writer, letterpress printer and designer Rick Griffith presented “Changing Histories” as part of the exhibition “Old Type, New Ways; Work from the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum.” →
“Forgotten Nation,” the Senior Exhibition project of Tanesha Spencer ’24 (Communication Design), represented the diverse talents and societal dedication of MIAD’s largest graduating class. →
MIAD Gallery at The Ave celebrated its one-year anniversary with “Culture Starters: Emerging from the Pandemic.” →
Ruth Arts + MIAD Artists Grants propelled individual practices forward
MIAD awarded Ruth Arts + MIAD Artist Grants to 10 faculty and staff to develop artwork – the result of a Legacy grant award from The Ruth Foundation for the Arts to pioneer its Wisconsin Artist Grant program.
Pictured: Matthew Lee, “The Historia,” detail. 2023 Ruth Arts Grant Recipient.
MIAD Youth Programs expanded, setting records & bolstering creative pipeline
Our work in service to the community
In just 2 years, MIAD’s yearlong Design Internship Program expanded exponentially to 45 high-school interns and 8 professional partners; 80% of the students were BIPOC. In 2024, a record 246 high school students attended MIAD’s Summer Pre-College Program; 46% were students of color.
MIAD by the numbers. 840 students enrolled. 100% of students receive financial aid, including scholarships. 35% of students self-identify as students of color. 43% of students received a Pell Grant. 7,152 volunteer hours were completed by MIAD students.
You Make Our Success Possible
With your support, our students, alumni and faculty have reached new heights of achievement and excellence. As they garner national, regional and local recognition, we steadfastly hone our strategic focus on enriching our students’ lives, personally and professionally, and the life of our shared community.
You make our success possible. Thank you for strengthening our present, and our future.
Tracy Milkowski
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
“I am excited to share that I will be the first of my siblings to graduate college, a milestone made possible by your generous support.”
Aniyah Marie-Roze Lapaul Harris (Siren) ′26
Fine Art + New Studio Practice
Fashion and Apparel Design debuted
The Fashion and Apparel Design major debuted, reflecting MIAD’s values and students: it is inclusive of gender, size, accessibility, sustainability and trends. Visiting Instructor and curriculum author Sarah Eichhorn was named first full-time professor in February.
Learn More Students Declare FAD
Celebrating Latine heritage through creativity
First Latine Student Exhibition celebrated MIAD’s Latine students during Hispanic Heritage Month. MIAD is a designated Emerging Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).
Pictured: Ari Gutierrez, “Porque tú eres Mexicana,” 2023.
Events
2024 Creative Fusion, co-chaired by Deanna & Eric Tillisch and Christine & Tom Irgens, raised a record $650,000+ for student scholarships.
Events
More than 175 alumni attended the first-ever Alumni Reunion in October 2023 to kick off and celebrate MIAD’s 50th anniversary.
Visionary
Pao Houa Her presented “Freshly Cut Plastic Flowers: The Hmong-American Dream” as part of the November 2023 MIAD Creativity Series.
Events
MIAD Holiday Sale showcased 120+ student and alumni creatives, and raised a record $55,000 in support of participants and scholarships.
Visionary
Phoenix S. Brown, Fine Art ’19, received the Emerging Artist Award as part of the Wisconsin Visual Art Achievement Awards (WVAAA).
Visionary
The Scholarship Luncheon bestowed Passion Awards to Susan & Bob Mikulay and The Herzfeld Foundation for decades of leadership and philanthropy.
Visionary
Zachary Scharrer, Product Design ’24, designed bespoke, adaptive formalwear for users with disabilities for his senior exhibition project.
News
In 2023, MIAD’s Communication Design, Animation & Illustration programs received top rankings in Wisconsin & Midwest by Animation Career Review.