Pratt Mourns the Loss of Longtime ID Professor Leonard “Lenny” Bacich

Pratt Institute mourns the loss of Leonard “Lenny” Bacich, a longtime professor of industrial design who died on February 3 at age 67. Lenny was famous among generations of students. He taught 3-D design courses and graduated from the Institute with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design in 1963 and a master’s degree in industrial design in 1971. He was also a former faculty trustee.

According to the monthly architecture and design journal DesignIntelligence, Lenny was among the country’s most admired industrial design educators in 2006. A student of influential design educator Rowena Reed Kostellow, Lenny continued teaching her design principles as the 3-D design curriculum coordinator. His 3-D design courses introduced first-, second-, and third-year students to the materials, techniques, and ideas comprising the three-dimensional world of “made” objects and natural forms by exploring abstract components such as plane, mass, and space.

Lenny initiated Pratt’s exchange program with Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany, in 2004, which offers students from communications design, fine arts, industrial design, and digital arts disciplines the chance to study abroad in the spring. As part of the program, Pratt welcomes exchange students from Bauhaus each fall. Lenny was on sabbatical in the spring of 2009 to teach at Bauhaus and participate in the school commemorating its 90th-anniversary celebration.

Lenny epitomized the rigor and magic of excellent teaching. He taught our most esoteric abstract courses and simultaneously helped his students understand the value of their individual creative lives.

A memorial service is planned, with details to follow later. Those wishing to make contributions in Bacich’s name can send them to the attention of Lenora Hallums in North Hall 219 and designate them for Pratt’s Rowena Reed Kostellow (RRK) Fund.

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