Biography
Susan P. Ashdown, Emerita Professor, joined the College of Human Ecology faculty in 1991 on completion of her Ph.D research at the University of Minnesota on the topic of perception of apparel fit. Previous to this she completed her MA degree in functional apparel design at Cornell. She taught at Cornell from 1980 to1988 in the College of Arts and Sciences and from 1991 to 2018 in the College of Human Ecology. The questions that informed her research and teaching focused on body variation and the sizing and fit of apparel. She also investigated the use of half scale dress forms developed from body scans in academia and the apparel industry.
Professor Ashdown was the revising editor for the 4th Edition of Draping for Apparel Design by Helen Joseph-Armstrong. She transformed the text, preserving Joseph-Armstrong's comprehensive range of information and methodology but increasing its relevance to the learning styles and the challenges facing the modern apparel student. Currently she is collaborating with Nora MacDonald in editing the 5th Edition of her outstanding textbook Principles of Flat-Pattern Design. Professor Ashdown is a Professor Emeritus at Woxen University in Hyderabad, India and an Adjunct Professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.