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I think a broad-based education is critical, because design doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s an interactive process. The value of a liberal arts education, of being well-read, of knowing history and art periods is incredibly important to bring a breadth of knowledge to design. It’s not just drawing pretty pictures, it’s about connecting the dots.

I very often teach an all-day draping class. While the students are working, I play NPR’s “Selected Shorts” or we listen to books on tape, we listen to stories. As a teacher, I’m committed to have my students become lifelong learners, because it doesn’t end when they walk out the door. It’s an attitude, an approach—it’s a way of life. You can learn the technical stuff on your own, you can pick that stuff up. The approach to the world, and having your eyes opened up, that’s what happens at college. And that’s the responsibility of the teacher, to teach the whole person. I’m not just teaching them how to sew.