Leonard Bacich

Distinguished Teacher 2010–11

Pratt Institute lost a revered teacher when Professor Leonard Bacich unexpectedly passed away this year. Also an alumnus, Bacich (BID ‘63, MIS ,71) taught generations of industrial design students.

As coordinator of the 3D Design curriculum, Bacich taught the principles of his influential teacher, Rowena Reed Kostellow. His courses introduced students to the materials, techniques, and ideas that compose the three-dimensional world “made” objects and natural forms through the exploration of basic abstract components such as plane, mass, and space. In 2006, the journal DesignIntelligence named him among the most admired industrial design educators in the country.

“Lenny epitomized the rigor and magic of great teaching,” said Pratt Provost Peter Barna. “He taught our most esoteric abstract courses and simultaneously created an understanding in his students of the value of their individual creative lives.”