M.F.A. Graphic Design, Boston University, USA
B.F.A. Graphic Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, USA

Melissa Plourde Khoury is an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture and Design. She joined LAU in Fall 2006. She specializes in teaching art and design history and theory. Since 2013 she has chaired the NASAD (National Association of Schools of Art and Design) committee at LAU. From 2013–2021 she served as an Associate Chair of the Department of Art and Design.

Research Interests

Her research interests are in visual culture and design with a focus on the Middle East. Her writings have been published in international journals and presented at various conferences on design, culture and communication.
Some of her research publications are listed on these websites:
Academia: https://lau.academia.edu/MelissaPlourdeKhoury
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Melissa-Plourde-Khoury/publications

Select Publications

“Parody and Contextualization in Lebanese Album Covers” in Design Issues, MIT Press, 2019
“Challenging Panopticism through Representations: Burj el Murr” in Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication, Brill, 2018
“The Egg: Memory and Visual Structures Within Representations of an Iconic Lebanese Ruin” in Visual Communication Quarterly, Taylor & Francis, 2017

Professional Work & Exhibitions

Her photographs and designed works have been published, exhibited and/or archived internationally with works awarded by Poster for Tomorrow, the 4th Block Association of Graphic Designers, Creative Quarterly, Graphis Competition, and IDA Design Awards. She has participated in various group exhibitions such as SeeHer (Rhode Island School of Design, USA), Convergence 808 Gallery, USA), The Best of New England Show (Bakalar Gallery, USA), The Aarhus International Poster Show (Danish Poster Museum, Denmark), Atfal Souriyah (Mark Hachem Gallery, Lebanon), Beirut Photo Fair (Artheum, Lebanon), and Senualités (Galerie Surface Libre D’art, Lebanon). In 2009 she held a solo exhibition of her photography titled Translations at Galerie Surface Libre D’art, Lebanon.

Additionally, she has served as a Contributing Editor for Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal and was a member of the Conference Paper Review Panel for the Cumulus 38° South: Hemispheric Shifts Across Learning Teaching and Research conference.

Awards, Fellowships & Grants

In 2014 she was recognized by Creative Quarterly as one of their top 100 designers.