Terminal Women

Lauren Holland
Lauren Holland
Cynthia Bertoia
Cynthia Bertoia

Two Georgia women claimed a place in the Brenau history books on May 4 as the first graduates to receive terminal degrees from the university. Cynthia Bertoia from Lawrenceville, Ga. and Lauren Holland from Vidalia, Ga. received diplomas for Brenau’s Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design. “This is a big, big deal for them and for the university,” says Dr. Lynn Jones, chair of the interior design program.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 2011 cleared Brenau to begin offering doctorates and the university launched a Doctor of Nursing Practice program in 2011 – but has yet to confer any degrees from what normally is a three-year program. The M.F.A. won approval a year earlier.

“The M.F.A. emphasizes teaching and research,” says Jones. “This is a degree for those who already have professional degrees and design experience. Graduates are prepared to teach college courses.”

You can view work by Cindy Bertoia, Lauren Holland as well as the B.F.A./M.I.D. Brenau graduates at http://www.brenau.edu/college-of-fine-arts-humanities/interiordesign/2013studentworks/.

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