Thursday, September 25, 2025
By: Madison Fernandes
Lindsey Walker completed her doctorate in interior design in 2025 from the University of Florida and received the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Joel Polsky Academic Achievement Award for her research. As a UF College of Design, Construction and Planning alumna, Walker’s experiences in the doctorate program made her uniquely qualified for this honor and her current work in the field.
The honor recognizes outstanding interior design research or thesis projects related to wellness in design. It was awarded for Walker’s dissertation titled “Examining Project Communication within Design Teams Operating in Hybrid Work Environments: Findings from an Architecture and Design Firm.”
This research empirically studied design communication, media effectiveness, and project performance, adding to the understanding of team dynamics in hybrid workplaces. Walker applied for this award with the encouragement of her thesis committee chair, Margaret Portillo.
The thesis’ focus interconnected with Walker’s experience completing a doctoral degree through a remote modality. She appreciated that within the program, she was able to connect with professionals who work in locations around the world.
Across her career, Walker has maintained a passion for interior design, earning a bachelor’s, a master’s, and working in a variety of roles professionally. But as a doctoral student, she had the chance to work with people from many academic backgrounds and areas of focus.
The program provided an opportunity to communicate across different disciplines, understanding the methods of team members specializing in topics like architecture, engineering, and project management.
In today’s environments, professionals must collaborate to provide holistic solutions to complex problems. Walker’s research is likewise beneficial to the process behind a built environment.
The interior design program prepared Walker for her current role as the Director of Special Projects at a large real estate firm by increasing her experience in cross-functional work. On a daily basis, these skills are integral to her tasks as she works to solve problems on a large scale, working closely with her organization’s CEO.
Walker’s favorite memory of being a doctoral student at DCP is attending conferences with her faculty chairs. She traveled to New York for the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) and Maine for the Engineering Project Organization Conference.
Walker was able to connect not only with fellow industry professionals, but with Gator alumni as well. At conferences, Walker noted the respect that her degree program received within the field, as a representation of the rigor of the college.
These interactions helped hone her research, determining real-world problems, potential gaps, and ways to improve the questioning. While in her program, Walker was a member of ASID, IDEC, and the International Interior Design Association.
Walker would advise prospective students to expand their understanding of how they can use a Ph.D. An applied degree opens many opportunities in education, research, or practice. In any of these outcomes, interior design professionals elevate the industry and solve problems together for future practitioners.
Portillo, a professor in DCP’s department of interior design, says of Walker’s work, “I am very proud of this exceptional young alumna for her level of engagement during the Ph.D program, presenting her research at conferences, publishing her findings, and engaging with the DCP community during her time at UF, which spanned the challenging pandemic years.”
