Class of 2025 honors associate professor Betsy Barnhart with HOPE Award

LAWRENCE ­— The University of Kansas senior class has recognized an industrial design professor with the 2024 HOPE Award — Honor for the Outstanding Progressive Educator. 

Betsy Barnhart, associate professor and director of the Industrial Design Program in the School of Architecture & Design, was presented with the award Nov. 23 during halftime of the football game between KU and Colorado.

“I am honored to have received the HOPE Award and to have been recognized by the senior student body at KU,” Barnhart said. “This recognition reflects not only my passion for education, but also the transformative power of creating inclusive and supportive environments for every student. I believe that education is about more than academic success — it’s about creating a sense of belonging and empowerment. When students feel supported and represented, their potential is truly limitless.” 

The HOPE Award was established by the Class of 1959 and is given to a faculty member who greatly affects students’ lives and exemplifies Jayhawk values in the classroom through exceptional teaching strategies. Today, the award remains the only honor given to faculty by the senior class through the Student Alumni and Endowment Board. Barnhart was also a finalist for the award given last year by the Class of 2024. 

“I love teaching seniors and helping them make the transition into the professional world. They are such a joy and inspire me every day in my teaching and my research,” Barnhart said. “I feel so grateful that my students continue to be a part of my life after graduation.” 

The HOPE Award is not the first recognition Barnhart has received for her teaching. In 2020, the Industrial Designers Society of America bestowed her with the Young Educator of the Year Award.

At KU, she teaches classes in industrial design, computer-aided design and industrial design studios. In their nominations, students reflected on Barnhart’s generosity in sharing her professional experiences and networks, as well as her practice of building students’ confidence to pursue job and internship opportunities.

Before teaching, Barnhart was the design manager at STX, a licensee of Nike, and worked as an industrial designer at Newell Brands and at Sardi Design. An accomplished sporting goods designer, she continues her professional practice designing equipment, having received several patents for her design work.

 As a researcher, Barnhart focuses on addressing inequities in industrial design — specifically, the under-representation of women in practice, design leadership and education. Also director of KU’s Multicultural Design Scholars Program, Barnhart is gathering core data to better assess the status of women and minorities in industrial design practice and conducting skills assessments internationally to show disparities in learning outcomes for women and minorities in industrial design education. 

Barnhart received a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Before coming to KU, she was an assistant professor at Iowa State University and taught at Towson University and the Rochester Institute of Technology.