Nancy Kwallek collection

Nancy Panak Kwallek graduated from Kinsman High School in Ohio before going to Kent State University, where she graduated with Honors. She earned her Master of Science from Oregon State University, and her PhD in Home Economics from Purdue University in 1978, with a dissertation titled “Housing Qualities and Conditions of the Elderly.” Over the course of her career, Kwallek has developed and directed interior design programs across the country, as an Associate Professor at San Diego State University (1969-1979), Associated Professor at Indiana University—Bloomington (1979-1983), and at the University of Texas at Austin (1983-2015). At UT Austin, she was instrumental in moving the interior design program from the School of Human Ecology to the School of Architecture. She now serves as Emeritus Professor and Gene Edward Mikeska Endowed Chair Emeritus for Interior Design at the University of Texas at Austin.

Much of Kwallek’s research focuses on the history of interior design, and the effects of different colors on office workers. Her major works include “Effects of Office Interior Color on Workers' Mood and Productivity” (1988), “Effects of environmental colour on males and females: A red or white or green office” (1990), “Effects of nine monochromatic office interior colors on clerical tasks and worker mood” (1996), “Impact of three interior color schemes on worker mood and performance relative to individual environmental sensitivity” (1997), and “Work week productivity, visual complexity, and individual environmental sensitivity in three offices of different color interiors” (2007). Kwallek was also featured in the documentary show Cracking the Color Code (2008) for her expertise. Her awards include the Gene Edward Mikeska Endowed Professorship for Interior Design (2008) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Kent State University (2011) for her contributions to the interior design field. In 2015 the University of Texas School of Architecture established the Dr. Nancy Panak Kwallek Endowed Chair in Design & Planning to commemorate her impact on the field and the University of Texas Interior Design program.

Sources:

“AncestryHeritageQuest.Com - 1950 United States Federal Census.” n.d. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.ancestryheritagequest.com/imageviewer/collections/62308/images/43290879-Ohio-153471-0008?treeid=;personid=;rc=;queryId=427d7761-7ad4-400a-8b99-8390578d25aa;usePUB=true;_phsrc=fsW41;_phstart=successSource;pId=209609091.

“Nancy Kwallek - Austin, Texas, United States | Professional Profile | LinkedIn.” n.d. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-kwallek-4609136.

Kwallek, Nancy Panak. 1978. “HOUSING QUALITIES AND CONDITIONS OF THE ELDERLY.” Theses and Dissertations Available from ProQuest, January, 1–214.

“Nancy Kwallek | School of Architecture.” n.d. Accessed March 25, 2024. https://soa.utexas.edu/faculty/nancy-kwallek.

Everett Austin Brown was born on April 3, 1913 in Remington, Indiana to Luther and Zoe Lee (née Blackwell) Brown. In 1934 he married Martha Isabelle Wilson, with whom he would have two daughters. Brown worked in the home furnishings section of Marshall Field & Company in Chicago from 1934-1937. He then worked at Stower’s Furniture Company in Houston from 1937-1939 before moving back to Marshall Field & Company, this time in the interior design section, from 1939-1944. In 1944 he moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan to work as the Color and Design Coordinator at the Grand Rapids Furniture Makers Guild. He worked there until 1950, when he became proprietor of his own interior design practice, Everett Brown Associates, with offices in New York City and San Francisco. Everett Brown Associates, Inc. was established in 1967 in New York City.

Everett Brown served on many professional boards and committees throughout his long career. Brown was heavily involved with both the American Institute of Interior Designers and the American Society of Interior Designers for the entirety of his career. For the former, he served as Chairman for the National Board (1963-1966), Chairman of the International Design Awards Committee (1963-1966), and Director of the New York Metropolitan Chapter (1980-1981). For the latter, he served on the National Industrial Relations Committee (1976-1977) and received the Designer of Distinction Award (1980). He served on the Design Committee for the House of Good Taste at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Brown died on May 15, 1996 in Marin County, California.

Sources:

“Everett Austin Brown.” n.d. Accessed March 20, 2024. https://prabook.com/web/everett_austin.brown/607492.

“Everett Austin Brown (1912–1996) • FamilySearch.” n.d. Accessed March 20, 2024. https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LRGH-3LC/everett-austin-brown-1912-1996.

“Everett Austin Brown (1913-1996) - Find a Grave...” n.d. Accessed March 20, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/242981732/everett_austin-brown.