Bartholomew, Robert (1940 - )

Robert Bartholomew

As an Environment, Textiles and Design professor for twenty-three years, Bob Bartholomew helped to develop an interior design program renowned for its excellence. During his leadership, the program was transformed into a respected professional program and the first in Wisconsin to receive Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER) accreditation.

Bartholomew earned a BFA at Notre Dame (1962) and an MFA at Michigan State University (1964), after which he worked for three years as an Interior and Industrial Design Supervisor at Steelcase, Inc. Before coming to UW in 1976, he taught at Northern Illinois University for five years and at Cornell University for three.

At UW, Bartholomew taught the commercial interior design courses and supervised the interior design internship program. His work as a teacher and designer was recognized with such honors as the Jacques Gold Medal of Fine Arts and the UW Star Faculty Award. His service activities include serving on the FIDER Board of Visitors and working on interior design licensing in Wisconsin.