Today Dr. Randy Swearer joins Autodesk as the vice president of education. We’re passionate about educating and inspiring the future workforce and Randy’s extensive expertise at the intersection of design and education will galvanize Autodesk’s efforts to empower students on a journey of lifelong learning through problem-solving, collaboration and design thinking.
More than 680 million students and educators from over 800,000 middle schools, high schools and higher education institutions in 188 countries can take advantage of free access to Autodesk’s professional software and services for use in classrooms, labs and at home. Young students are pushing the boundaries of design and innovation both inside and outside of the classroom using the same Autodesk design software used by professionals every day.
Previously the provost and dean of faculty at the University of Philadelphia, Randy brings 25 years of experience in higher education management and strategic planning. He also served as deputy director of the design program of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Design Division head at the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas, where he was awarded the Texas Excellence Teaching Prize. With a foundation in technology, Randy began his career as the senior designer and supervisor at Wang Laboratories and also served as a senior communications specialist at IBM.
“I’m passionate about equipping the next generation of architects, engineers, designers and digital artists with powerful technology, but also instilling in them a love of design itself,” said Randy Swearer, vice president of Education at Autodesk. “I am most excited about working with the Autodesk team to build powerful, creative relationships with secondary schools and universities during an unprecedented moment of transformation in the education sector.”
Randy’s work begins on the heels of today’s news that Autodesk Design Academy courses are now available on iTunes U, the world’s largest catalog of free education content.
To learn more or to request free educational access to Autodesk software, visit http://www.autodesk.com/education.
