Margaret Portillo, professor and chair of the Department of Interior Design, was named to the Council of Fellows by the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) at the organization’s annual national conference on March 14.
Founded in 1963, IDEC is the professional society for interior design education, research, scholarship and service. The title of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on a member of IDEC and is given in recognition of outstanding and sustained service and contributions to the organization and to the field. The status of Fellow is nominated by the membership and approved by the IDEC Board of Directors. Portillo is the 42nd named fellow to the professional society.
According to John Turpin, past president of IDEC, “Dr. Portillo is an exemplar of our interior design community.”
Notably she has served for two terms as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Interior Design. During her tenure, JID moved from a bi-annual to a quarterly publication schedule. JID now regularly includes authors from across the globe. The quality of the journal remains strong as its contributors’ diversity increases, and most recently JID was recognized with a citation for excellence by Thompson Reuters.
Other leadership as past chair of the FIDER Research Council and current chair of the CIDA Standards Committee has advanced educational standards in the field of interior design.