School of Planning, Design and Construction

• Allen Memorial CANR/SPDC.

Affiliated Programs/Initiatives/Projects:

• Interior Design Educators Council.
• Environmental Design Research Association.

April Allen was an assistant professor of interior design in the School of Planning, Design and Construction at Michigan State University. She graduated from the College of Architecture at Virginia Tech with a PhD in Environmental Design and Planning in 2004. Allen was National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) Certified and served as a Qualified Council Juror for the exam from 2000–2003. She was a member of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) and the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA), where she served as a conference paper reviewer and on the Program Committee for the EDRA37 Conference in Atlanta. Allen practiced interior design for more than 20 years, concentrating in the area of retail store planning before beginning graduate school in 1997. She had teaching experience at all levels from first-year through graduate courses in both studio and lecture formats. Most recently, Allen taught the first-year interior design studio, the history of interior design, professional practices and historic preservation courses. Her teaching philosophy aimed to encourage students to think creatively, act ethically and grow their skills and knowledge to design more functional, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing built environments.