“Teamwork and collaboration are how things get done in real life. To receive an award for doing a job you love with fabulous people makes your job so satisfying.”

Paula Frances Peek is the W. Allen & Martin Reimer Reid Associate Professor in the Department of Consumer and Design Sciences and is the undergraduate coordinator and accreditation coordinator for the Interior Design program. Her academic interests include the manual and technical manipulation and presentation of images associated with products and spaces. Peek teaches coursework in the presentation of design and in image and personal branding, which includes the concepts of perspective drawing and rendering, color theory, BIM rendering, graphic design theory and application, and branding and identity manipulation. She was named the Auburn SGA Outstanding Faculty Member in 2004 and honored with the Auburn Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award in 2006. Peek is an active fine artist and graphic designer and has won “Best in Show” and first place rankings for multiple national fine art and design exhibitions.

“I give a great deal of credit to my parents, who used homeschooling to engender a deep sense of self-motivation that has benefitted me tremendously at my current job.” Anna Ruth Gatlin joined Design Services in Facilities Management in 2011 as an interior designer to work on construction projects across campus. She recently collaborated with Interior Design faculty in the College of Human Sciences and industry partners to transform faculty offices into “working labs.” Each space contains various types of furniture and carpet to enhance students’ education. Their work earned second place from the Association of University Interior Designers National Design Competition in 2014. Gatlin also earned a second place finish in 2013 for the South Donahue residence hall project. A two-time graduate of the College of Human Sciences, Gatlin serves on the college’s Interior Design Advisory Board and the National Board for the Association of University Interior Designers, as well as other committees within Facilities Management and Auburn. Her hobbies include pioneer arts such as quilting, weaving, and canning, as well as caring for her garden and chickens