NORTH CHESTERFIELD, VA, September 22, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Sandra Bell Wilkins has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Having accrued more than 35 years of inimitable expertise as an artist, educator and former chairperson of the department of fashion design at Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Ms. Wilkins has garnered a laudable reputation supporting emerging student designers. While coming of age, she had already begun drafting patterns and making clothes for others, after learning to sew at her grandmother's side. Driven by her singular passion for textile art, Ms. Wilkins attended Virginia Commonwealth University and attained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in fashion design in 1972, and began working in fashion sales and merchandising.
In the late 1970s, Ms. Wilkins returned to her alma mater as an adjunct faculty staff member, teaching in the theatre arts and fashion design departments. In the early 1990s, she traveled extensively as a USAID grantee, researching, teaching and helping to establish fashion programs in technical schools throughout Zimbabwe. She was named as the chairperson of the department of fashion design at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1995, and in 1999, became the chairperson of the department of fashion design at Virginia Commonwealth University's Qatar-based extension arts campus. Based in Doha, the VCUArts Qatar program was one of the region's first international fashion- and textile-focused fine arts programs, offering an exemplary degree program to students through the Middle East and North Africa. Beginning with just 35 students during its first year, the Qatar campus enrollment had grown to more than 400 by the time Ms. Wilkins stepped down from her position in 2018.
Ms. Wilkins has been recognized extensively for her career commitment to pioneering truly international fashion design programs, and she has been named as the Best Fashion Educator in the Middle East, Asia and North Africa Region. During her time at Virginia Commonwealth University, she notably curated and juried more than half a dozen gallery shows of student works and archive garments, and her own fine art clothing has been exhibited in numerous group and solo shows. Her research centers on sustainability in global fashion manufacturing, historical Middle Eastern and North African clothing design and culture, and the cultural and design implications of silhouette in draped traditional designs from the Middle East and East Asia. She attributes her success to her dedication to her students and craft, natural nurturing spirit and a tireless love of teaching. Presently, Ms. Wilkins sits on the board of directors of the Qatar American Institute, where she aspires to continue her work promoting fashion design education through consulting, outreach and her continued fine arts practice.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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