A mix of fresh, artificial and tissue paper flowers – pinks, purples and greens – adorned pillars and podiums. A floral aroma floated along the corridors and in the main theater while a student jazz band greeted university leaders and esteemed guests.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony at Cruess Hall last month was a celebration of innovation, sustainability, interdisciplinary research and incredible generosity, marking the official launch of the Maria Manetti Shrem Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles at UC Davis.
The institute, housed in the Department of Design, will advance wearable and smart textile technologies and promote sustainability across multiple facets of design.
Intended to be a hub for interdisciplinary research and innovation, the institute is named after philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem, who made a transformative gift of more than $20 million last year to the College of Letters and Science, catalyzing an arts renaissance at UC Davis.
“As a one-of-its-kind hub for creativity, the institute converges expertise from industry and academia to inspire the next generation of artists, designers and innovators,” said Shaun B. Keister, vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations. “It unites Maria’s esteemed career in fashion and design with UC Davis’ world-class work to advance a shared priority: sustainability across all dimensions of design.”
Associate Professor of Design Gözde Göncü-Berk, who has been named the inaugural Maria Manetti Shrem Endowed Chair for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles, will lead the institute. She has been at UC Davis since 2018.
Forging connections for greater innovation, impact
Göncü-Berk envisions the institute as a hub for interdisciplinary discovery and application — a platform focused on regenerative futures uniting design, science and humanities, and technology to build healthier relationships between people, materials, products and the planet.
She noted that, through transdisciplinary collaboration and engagement with industry and community organizations, the institute aims to create design solutions that address urgent environmental and social challenges while preparing the next generation of creative leaders to shape more sustainable futures.
“In my research, innovation is not just about inventing something new, it’s about forging connections across disciplines, with people and between imagination and impact,” Göncü-Berk said. “That same ethos is also foundational to the Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles.”
Design thinking for a better future
By fostering circular material ecosystems, advancing wearable and smart textile technologies, and championing cultural inclusivity, the institute will help position UC Davis at the forefront of sustainable design for societal and planetary well-being.
“The Maria Manetti Shrem Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles builds upon Maria’s spark of a ‘Renaissance Zeitgeist’ by holistically integrating arts, humanities, design, fashion and textiles,” said Estella Atekwana, dean of the College of Letters and Science. “The institute will foster collaboration between students, researchers and industry, translating academic research around sustainable practices into practical, real-world solutions in design and alternative materials. Maria’s gift also provides opportunities to form partnerships with industry that will have few limits, stretching from Silicon Valley to Florence, Italy and beyond.”
One example of this “beyond” is The Planet Positive Residency, also funded by Manetti Shrem’s gift last year. The 10-day residency sends UC Davis students to Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland to learn local artisan techniques in design and sustainability and see where the materials for their textiles come from.
Students who participated in the residency presented the celebrated donor with an origami tote bag handmade with recycled materials by third-year student Maya Leonard, who is graduating early with a double major in design and communications.
Student work created during the residency was also on display at the 2025 UC Davis Design Research Showcase, a pop-up exhibition held alongside the ribbon-cutting celebration. It brought together 11 faculty- and student-led presentations that reflected the remarkable creative energy and variety within the Department of Design.
“The showcase highlighted how our community blends material exploration, scientific inquiry, cultural insight and technological experimentation,” said Professor Jiayi Young, department chair.
The presentations varied from regenerative fashion and wearable technologies to research in biodesign and adobe construction, and more. It also featured installations involving artificial intelligence and data, as well as displays of Associate Professor Thomas Maiorana's wildfire evacuation board game and the Jo Ann C. Stabb Design Collection.
“Together, these works offered a vivid snapshot of the many ways UC Davis designers engage the world — pushing boundaries in sustainability, storytelling, public engagement and critical technological inquiry,” Young said. “The showcase made visible the depth, range and collaborative spirit of research happening across the Design department and demonstrated how design at UC Davis is both imaginative and deeply connected to the challenges and possibilities of our time.”
Young described the department as a place where faculty lead advances in sustainable materials and regenerative production systems while being at the forefront of the digital future, conducting critical and creative research in artificial intelligence, computational design and human-computer interactions.
Public engagement and scholarship are central to the work of design faculty and students, whose creative practices extend beyond the university and into the communities they serve.
“Faculty apply design thinking to disaster prevention, health and environmental wellbeing, developing systems that address urgent social and ecological challenges,” Young said. “Collectively, we embody the conviction that the world we live in is ‘by design’ from the clothes we wear to the roads we travel and even in the questions we ask when interacting with AI systems. Through critical reflection, material innovation and visionary practice, our faculty and students are shaping the future of design as a transformative and global discipline.”
A historic gift transforming arts and design at UC Davis
Manetti Shrem’s historic gift funds eight new endowments for art and design within the College of Letters and Science. In addition to the faculty chair in sustainable design and the new institute, the endowments include:
- Two endowed academic chairs in the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program.
- Graduate fellowships that will nurture the next generation of artists.
- Perpetual funding for The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies, which brings world-class artists to instruct and mentor undergraduate and graduate students.
- Support for the Maria Manetti Shrem Art and Art History Visual Resources Library.
UC Davis has named existing programs and spaces in Manetti Shrem’s honor, including the Maria Manetti Shrem Art District, the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Hall and the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program.
“Thanks to Maria, the institute will build upon on UC Davis’ longstanding leadership in sustainability — expanding that legacy globally through new partnerships and innovation that bridges disciplines and industries,” said Chancellor Gary S. May. “In the coming years, UC Davis will become an unparalleled beacon for creativity and expression.”
The UC Davis Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art is named for Manetti Shrem and her late husband, Jan Shrem. The couple gave $10 million in 2011 to establish the museum, which opened its doors in 2016. Manetti Shrem’s latest gift builds upon her continued giving over the past decade and consists of a $20 million estate gift plus an additional $800,000 annually to immediately fund the endowments, providing support in perpetuity.
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Improving Our Lives Through Design
Inside an L-shaped room in Cruess Hall, surrounded by workstations, 3D printers, sewing machines, tools and mannequins wearing prototypes, Gözde Göncü-Berk builds the future. It’s a future of many possibilities, but those possibilities share a common thread. They’re all based around humanity’s increasing use of wearable technology.
Textile Exhibit Weaves Story of Shared Human Experience
From ancient sewing needles and woven baskets to wearable technology, textile production is a uniquely human endeavor. As part of a co-curated exhibit pulled from the Jo Ann C. Stabb Design Collection at UC Davis, "Textiles: The Art of Mankind," puts this shared history — and future — on display at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London.