Rose Gonnella is currently a twenty-five year experienced professor in the Visual Communications Program of the Department of Design at Kean University in New Jersey. She teaches courses in design theory, studio skills and computer technology and has also developed the school's web design curriculum. She currently serves on the executive board of the Art Directors Club of New Jersey (ADCNJ) and as the Director of the Kean University/ADCNJ "Thinking Creatively" design conference. Ms. Gonnella is an educator, artist, designer and writer who has been awarded membership in two scholarly academic organizations, the Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society in 1980 and the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society in 2001. She has received grants from the Mid-America Arts Alliance International Residency Project, the Mid-Atlantic Residency Grant Project and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship. She has also received several awards from Kean University, including the Presidential Award for Distinguished Research/Creative Work, the Computers in Curriculum Released Time Award, the Alumni Association Grant and the Faculty-Student Research Award. Ms. Gonnella is a practicing artist and designer who has exhibited both nationally and internationally for fifteen years. Her drawings are included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the Museum of Art and Archaeology in Columbia, Missouri and other public and private collections. Her design work primarily revolves around Kean University's intellectual journal, the Kean Review, for which she is the Creative Director. Ms. Gonnella is also the author and co-author of several books and has written many magazine articles on creativity, art and architecture for several national publications. In addition, Ms. Gonella has written over two hundred and fifty articles on art, design and architecture for two newspapers in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Christopher J. Navetta is currently professor of design at Kean University in New Jersey and has taught courses in Digital Prepress, Promotional Design and Studio Skills. He is currently the Vice President of the Art Directors Club of New Jersey (ADCNJ). Mr. Navetta has been a professional freelance graphic designer for over fifteen years and boasts an eclectic group of clients and employers, from large nationally known corporations to small businesses and individual customers. This has provided Mr. Navetta with a unique sampling of the multifarious facets of design. Mr. Navetta continues to do freelance work, was a designer for the 2005 ADCNJ Awards Show and Exhibition and is involved with the Kean University/ADCNJ "Thinking Creatively" annual design conference. Mr. Navetta earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Visual Communications/Graphic Design from Kean University and, while in school, was awarded two ADCNJ scholarships for design and a Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society writing scholarship.
