VS America Names New Education Director

Furniture solutions company VS America recently announced that it has named Jill Ackers as its new Education Director, responsible for the company’s educational planning and professional development. A news release reports that Ackers has more than 25 years’ experience in school design, education and leadership positions in both K–12 and higher ed environments, as well as being a certified learning environment planner with A4LE.

Ackers’ new role will focus on researching the learning environment patterns required for agile space design, supporting the connection between pedagogy and space, the news release reports. Her previous partnerships with architecture firms, interior designers and furniture vendors have fleshed out her experience in designing responsive, flexible and agile spaces during all phases of the process, from the master planning phase to schematic design to design development.

Jill Ackers VS America
Jill Ackers
Photo Courtesy of VS America

“She has successfully engaged school boards, leaders, and educators in short-term and long-term visioning, strategic planning, and professional development to align and utilize innovative spaces with instructional delivery methods,” according to the news release. “She has developed extensive lessons-learned libraries through experiential research and collected data through post-occupancy studies to share how building design and classroom layout impact student achievement and well-being.”

In her position as Education Director, she’ll focus on educational planning for K–12 and higher education environments; designing and implementing professional development in schools; and communicating with architecture firms, design firms and dealer partners.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • FGCU Breaks Ground on New Health Sciences Building

    Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) has launched construction on a major new academic facility that leaders say will reshape healthcare education in Southwest Florida for decades to come, according to university news.

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).

  • Construction Begins on New University Research Vessel

    Boat-building company All American Marine recently announced that it has begun construction on a new catamaran research vessel for the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) in Port Aransas, Texas, according to a news release.

  • UTampa Breaks Ground on STEM Academic Facility

    The University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla., recently broke ground on one of its largest academic facilities ever, according to a news release. The Dickey Science Innovation Center will measure 153,000 square feet and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.