Muhammad to serve as IDMR chair

The East Carolina University College of Health and Human Performance announced Dr. Amanda Muhammad as its new department chair for interior design and merchandising.

Muhammad comes to ECU from Indiana State University, where she is a professor and has served as interim department chair for human resource development and performance technologies. The department is under the College of Technology, and Muhammad has thrived in interests such as merchandising and retailing strategies, global trade, quantitative analysis, entrepreneurship and other areas.

Muhammad. (Contributed photo)

“I am ecstatic about becoming a part of the Pirate Nation of East Carolina University,” Muhammad said. “The department of interior design and merchandising is well-positioned and knowledgeable, with great opportunities for collaborations within the College of Health and Human Performance and the larger community. I look forward to working with our faculty, staff and students.”

Muhammad holds three degrees from Fontbonne University in Missouri and she obtained her Ph.D. in Human Environmental Sciences from the University of Missouri – Columbia in 2011, developing her focus on merchandising, gendered studies and international business.

“We very much look forward to the collaborations she sparks, her leadership, and her positive contributions to the college,” ECU HHP Dean Anisa Zvonkovic said. “I want to thank the search committee, the IDMR personnel committee and the promotion committee for their work.”

Muhammad succeeds Dr. Katherine Swank, who is retiring after 40 years of commitment to ECU and interior design and merchandising. She served as department chair since 1997.

ECU’s department of interior design and merchandising offers two fully accredited academic programs. They are a B.S. in interior design and B.S. in fashion merchandising and consumer studies.