Jody Nyboer

Biography

Jody Nyboer, Ph.D., is an associate professor in Syracuse University’s School of Design.

Nyboer leads and teaches in the design futures (DSF) program, where courses in design research and creative problem solving prepare students to become change agents and strategic thinkers for responding to an ever-changing world. She also teaches studio in the environmental and interior design (EDI) program. Her EDI studios build the skills basic to code-compliant, human-centered architectural practice while asking students to balance creative expression with meaningful response to complex prompts rooted in cultural and social tension. This work asks students to think about the built environment through both social and environmental sustainability.

As a researcher, Nyboer’s scholarship focuses on the current challenges and future of design pedagogy. Current research threads include design critique discourse and the role of AI, how the built environment shapes process thinking and creative agency in design students, how divergent thinking training builds creative aptitude, and developing a new approach to analyzing performance outcomes on the Alternative Uses Test (AUT).

Beyond her core academic roles, Nyboer is an associate editor for Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, actively mentors undergraduate student research year-round, and maintains a longstanding collaboration with a colleague from the University of Minnesota, co-teaching an international massive open online course (MOOC) on creative problem solving.

Education

• Ph.D., University of Minnesota, College of Design
• M.Arch, University of New Mexico, School of Architecture and Planning
• M.A.T., Lewis and Clark College, Graduate School of Education and Counseling
• B.S., University of Oregon, Geological Sciences