CIDQ and IDEC Donate Their Archives to NYSID

Billy Chi Hing Kwan, NYSID's director of the library & archives, and Nora Reilly, NYSID’s archivist/librarian

On a long table in the NYSID library, Billy Chi Hing Kwan, NYSID's director of the library & archives, and Nora Reilly, NYSID’s archivist/librarian, begin to explore the contents of the many banker boxes of archives that arrived from the Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ), along with a deed of gift, this March 2025. This assemblage of papers from interior design’s core certifying organization is a treasure that documents the evolution of the interior design profession and its body of knowledge since the organization’s inception in 1972. 

This important donation to NYSID’s library comes on the heels of another: the Interior Design Educators Council’s (IDEC) gift of its archives to NYSID in 2024. The New York School of Interior Design is also in negotiations with one of interior design’s largest professional organizations to obtain their archives. Kwan says, "NYSID’s vision is to become the research center and archive repository for the histories of interior design profession and education." Says Kwan, “Archival material that is sensitive should be preserved and protected because it’s a record of the truth. Once we make this accessible, it becomes an important resource on the history of interior design and its profession for scholars of many disciplines.”  

NYSID’s archivists have already begun the process of stabilizing the physical material from both organizations by properly housing the archives from IDEC and CIDQ in acid-free containers, so that they can later be described and cataloged in NYSID Archives' online finding aids and ultimately digitized. NYSID’s team will be following the standards of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Society of American Archivists (SAA).

One need not be a student or alum of NYSID to access the archives. NYSID will make the archives of both organizations publicly available in perpetuity.  

Behind the CIDQ Donation

The Council for Interior Design Qualification (CIDQ) is the premier certifying organization for interior design professionals. CIDQ develops and administers the NCIDQ Exam, which tests interior designers’ knowledge of core competencies required for professional practice in the industry. The organization also advocates for the reasonable regulation of the interior design profession, in the service of public health and safety, state by state. Explains NYSID VP for Academic Affairs and Dean Ellen Fisher, PhD, “The role of licensure is key to the definition of a profession. CIDQ creates and administers the exam that is used by every state and in Canada as one of the requirements of licensure and is therefore key to documenting the history and growth of interior design as a recognized profession.”   

CIDQ’s donation of its archives to NYSID was almost a decade in the making. It began with conversations between Thom Banks, the long-term CEO of CIDQ (who retired on April 30, 2025) and Dr. Fisher. Ten years ago, as the organization was relocating its headquarters to Virginia, there was a concern that some of the organization’s history would be lost or inadequately stored. Fisher met with the CIDQ board to discuss the process and answer questions. Kwan and Reilly visited CIDQ’s headquarters in Alexandria, VA, in person, to inspect the materials in 2017. 

“As part of celebrating CIDQ’s 50th anniversary last year, we spent a lot of time going through boxes of organizational documents and photographs to help better share the organization’s history with our members and stakeholders,” says Banks. “We are at a stage in our organizational development where the number of individuals that participated in the formative stages of the organization is dwindling and as a small organization, we’re simply not equipped to preserve our history or archives. The process by which the NCIDQ Exam, the foundational component of regulation for the profession, was developed and has evolved needs to be documented for future generations. Our Board is pleased that CIDQ’s history will now be protected and preserved, along with those of other interior design organizations, in a central and accessible repository for future generations.” CIDQ donated $5,000 this year to help NYSID establish and maintain the archives. Both CIDQ and NYSID envision an ongoing relationship with opportunities for additional transfers of CIDQ material and further support of the archive. 

CIDQ council members Eve Frankl of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), National Director of the Institute of Business Designers (IBD) Will Ching, and Hal Birchfield of ASID discuss additions to the NCIDQ Study Guide

A Peek into the CIDQ Archives

It’s too early in the process for Reilly and Kwan to describe individual components of the archive, but they are able to give an overview of the contents in broad strokes. Says Kwan, “What I think is interesting is tracking when subjects such as lighting for safety and wellbeing, culturally sensitive design, and sustainable interiors entered the discourse, and began to change the landscape of the profession. It would be fascinating to do a decade-by-decade comparison of materials relating to the exams.” The organization began to coalesce in 1972 and formalized as a nonprofit in 1974, and the records go back to its very beginning. Reilly says, “Having the organization’s records of board meeting minutes, annual reports, and bylaws will allow researchers to track the activities and key players of NCIDQ from its earliest days. The conference proceedings will be fascinating to look at because each year there is a theme and these themes are directly related to what the profession was concerned about at the time. The materials relating to exams, such as the study guides, are incredibly valuable, as are the materials related to the organization’s advocacy work surrounding state regulation.”  

Exploring the IDEC Archives

The Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) is the nation’s premier professional organization for interior design educators in North America, as well as a community committed to scholarship that shapes the future of the industry. It was established in 1962 and officially named during its first conference in 1963. “IDEC entrusted NYSID with its archives because the college has a long-standing reputation as a leader in interior design education and a demonstrated commitment to preserving and honoring the legacy of the discipline. NYSID’s mission aligns closely with IDEC’s values, particularly in promoting scholarly inquiry, educational advancement, and the history of the interior design profession,” says Susan Ray-Degges, PhD, IDEC historian, who was instrumental in the process of transferring the archives to NYSID. 

IDEC donated 31 boxes of materials dating back to its founding in 1962. “These materials—including a full set of the Journal of Interior Design from 1975 to 2014, conference proceedings, photographs, videos, from past events, biographies and memorials of IDEC fellows, teaching resources, and historical artifacts collected by the previous IDEC historian, Buie Hardwood—not only document the evolution of the field but also capture the voices, values, and pedagogical innovations of interior design educators across decades,”  says Ray-Degges. “The archive allows researchers to trace the profession’s intellectual roots. It’s not just a repository of the past—it’s a resource that can fuel new ideas and scholarly work.” 

Variety of archival publications related to the Journal of Interior Design

Photographs of early IDEC board members and founding members

Among the archives, there are photographs of the IDEC annual meetings and conferences, and all the people who were involved. “Having board meeting minutes, annual reports, and bylaws allows researchers to track the activities of the organization and its key players from the very beginning,” says Reilly. NYSID hosted the IDEC annual meeting last year and Kwan was able to put up photos and crowdsource answers to the identity of some of the historic figures in the photos. Reilly also points to the wonderful oral histories and videos gathered by former IDEC historian Buie Hardwood for the organization’s 50th anniversary in 2012, an incredible first-person resource. 

“IDEC deeply appreciates how the New York School of Interior Design has established one of the premier scholarly archives dedicated to the history of interior design,” says Dr. Bryan D. Orthel, IDEC president for 2025-26. “The resources in the NYSID archive—including the IDEC materials—chronicle the creation of a profession.  Collecting and protecting this record preserves ideas.  Interior Design education transfers these ideas across generations—each generation adding and adapting—so our students are prepared to create the better world we seek.” 

How and When You Can Access the CIDQ and IDEC Archives  

Reilly estimates that portions of both archives will be available by request as soon as Fall 2025. To make a request, reach out to Archivist/Librarian Nora Reilly at library.info@nysid.edu or nora.reilly@nysid.edu.

 At NYSID, these archives of major interior design organizations are complemented by the special collections and archives of a number of important interior designers, artisans, and furniture designers. For more information, explore NYSID’s Archives & Special Collections HERE.