FIT Honors Dr. Joyce F. Brown With Its First New Academic Building in Nearly 50 Years

On Thursday, the Fashion Institute of Technology marked a defining moment with the opening of the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building, its first new academic facility in nearly 50 years. Named after FIT’s departing president and trailblazer, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, the structure stands as a testament to her influence on creative education.

Celebrating the occasion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, alumni and industry leaders gathered to honor Dr. Brown, who served a 27-year tenure as the first woman and first Black person to lead the school. FIT alum and ELLE editor-in-chief Nina Garcia delivered remarks and a toast, highlighting Dr. Brown’s impact on the college and the broader fashion landscape.

Nina Garcia, Fern Mallis, and Jane Hertzmark Hudis.

“FIT has been a transformative place where people come with big dreams and leave ready to make their mark on fashion, business, design, and beyond,” Garcia said. “I was one of those international students that came here with a big dream, and I have lived the FIT experience myself.”

She continued: “I joined the Board of Trustees to help carry forward that mission, one that’s been at the heart of Dr. Joyce Brown’s leadership. For 27 years, she’s championed innovation, sustainability, and creativity and truly positioned FIT as a global leader. It is only fitting that we honor her remarkable contributions by naming this building she’s helped bring to life for her students.”

The ceremony came six months after another special event marked the end of Dr. Brown’s presidency. In April, Garcia and renowned designer Michael Kors, who also attended FIT, co-hosted the school’s annual gala, where they paid tribute to Dr. Brown. “Dr. Joyce F. Brown has built an institution where dreams become careers, where innovation thrives, and where students from all backgrounds find their place in the world of fashion, design, and business,” Kors said.

The Joyce F. Brown Academic Building, a 10-story, 100,000-square-foot behemoth, features 26 energy-efficient classrooms and studios, an accessible student common area, and the new Knitting Lab—the largest campus knitting and weaving facility in the U.S.

The brand-new Knitting Lab.

Outside the Joyce F. Brown Academic Building.

“My hope is that future generations of leaders will use this space to foster a creative community and to explore, innovate, and make a lasting impact on the global economy and the world,” Dr. Brown said in a statement.

For Dr. Brown, whose vision helped bring the project to life, the opening represents more than new classrooms and labs. In a May 2025 interview with ELLE, she spoke about how her mission at FIT was rooted in access and opportunity. “People don’t realize it’s part of SUNY, I think, because they think of it as specialized,” she said, referring to the State University of New York system. “What I saw was a real opportunity to get to young people who might be afraid to think of FIT as a destination for themselves.”

Joyce F. Brown at FIT.

Under her leadership, FIT introduced sustainability-focused coursework, including a natural dye garden, created a social justice center to better support students of color entering the fashion and retail industries, and reimagined design education for the digital era.

Dr. Brown credits today’s students with pushing important conversations forward. “It is critical and crucial to this young generation that they have a different way of designing and doing business that will protect the planet,” she told ELLE. “They are disdainful of excess and understand the importance of quality.”

The building’s opening also signals a new chapter for FIT itself. But as Dr. Brown steps down, she hopes the school’s identity will remain grounded in creativity and social responsibility. “There just has to be an ethical core of beliefs, and you have to maintain and perhaps fight for them,” she said.