With the generosity of donors like you, this award can be endowed to support even more SIAT design students and memorialize Russell and his contributions to our university in perpetuity. Your thoughtful contribution to this fund will provide SIAT students with financial support as they explore their passion for design.

Russell, a university lecturer at SFU, was a valued faculty member of SIAT for 22 years. He was an exceptional teacher, mentor and above all else, an extraordinary person. He overflowed with passion for design, designers, and design education with an energy that was matched only by his commitment to students. His gift as an educator was recognized in 2013 when he was awarded the prestigious SFU Excellence in Teaching Award. Russell’s positive impact on students over decades of teaching cannot be overstated. He motivated students time and time again to extend beyond their limits, deepen their critical skills, and question practices of design to improve a world marked by crisis and challenges.

From 2004 to 2022, Russell created and ledSFU’s field schools in Italy and the Netherlands. These annual field programs allowed him to share with students his love, knowledge, and experience of the diverse practices and living histories of design through countless interviews by students and studio visits with the most known and influential designers in Europe. These remarkable experiences have deeply impacted and transformed the lives of hundreds of SIAT students and created a network of international designers that respected Russell as a colleague and often called him a friend.

Whether by mentorship, teaching, or encouragement, Russell knew the importance of bridging academic learning with practical experience and the professional worlds of designing. His legacy was his ability to craft in students the skills, knowledge, and sense of exploration to find their way, years after graduation to become compassionate, ethical, and impactful professionals in design or in whatever field they chose.

Above all, Russell’s humanness was his strength. He understood the value and critical importance of human relationships of work and friendship. He sought to create and strengthen bonds between us, fostering the kind of social connections in which we learn, find value, and strive to better those around us.

SFU is honoured to be a part of Russell's legacy, which is why we are seeking charitable donations from donors like you to create an award in his memory.