Bio

Dr. Diane Al Shihabi is a scholar of Design History, specializing in the French and American Beaux-Arts Design systems, and an Associate Professor Emerita in the College of Design at Iowa State University (ISU). She earned a PhD in Design Studies (History of Interiors) with a minor in Art (Architecture) History from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Her expertise in design historical research broaden academia in the fields of Global Design History and Preservation & Cultural Heritage. Dr. Al Shihabi is also a professional Interior Designer with National Council on Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) Certification. She supports the profession as a Board of Review member for the Journal of Interior Design, the premiere tier-one journal in the field of Interior Design.

To advance design education, Dr. Al Shihabi co-developed the Preservation and Cultural Heritage Program at Iowa State University and proposed an interdisciplinary studio collaboration with the Office of Cultural Heritage at the US Department of State.  Dr. Mikesch Muecke (ARCH) and Al Shihabi co-developed and implemented the initiative, together with Tobin Tracey, the Director of the Office of Cultural Heritage. Between 2017 and 2024 ISU's Preservation and Cultural Heritage students participated in seven interdisciplinary, study-abroad studios.  To support the program, Al Shihabi and Muecke created new graduate and undergraduate courses in preservation and cultural heritage.

At Iowa State University, Dr. Al Shihabi represented faculty interests as a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Board (2018-2024)—a collaboration with ISU’s faculty and the Office of Provost—and as the elected Chair of the Faculty Development and Administrative Relations Council (FDAR). She redeveloped the graduate curriculum as the Director of Graduate Education in the Department of Interior Design (2018-2025). In support of quality in design education, she reviewed programs for the Council on Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), as a site visitor for national evaluation and accreditation (2012-2022). 

As a professional practitioner, Dr. Al Shihabi had seventeen years of high-level practice experience in the specialization of preservation. Her firm, Diane Al Shihabi Historic Restoration, Inc., held contracts for the interior restorations of multiple state capitols and museums, including the Wisconsin State Capitol, Kentucky State Capitol, Cyrus Yawkey Museum, and Blackpoint Historic site, among others. She was also a consultant on the Utah State Capital restoration and on Olin House, the chancellor’s residence of UW Madison.