Abstract Suzanne E. Vanderbilt was an industrial designer at General Motors, hired as a “Damsels of Design”, a pioneering group of women automobile designers hired by Harley Earl (VP of Design) in the mid-1950s. While there, she became the first female assistant designer and developed two patents relating to automotive safety and ergonomics, among other accomplishments. From 1963-1965, General Motors granted Ms. Vanderbilt a leave to study at the Cranbrook Academy of Art (CAA), where she earned a...

Collection Scope From the Collection: The Bob Yares Records document the many evolving duties performed by him and other Cranbrook Academy of Art (CAA) staff members, from the 1970s into the 2000s. This collection also provides information about the Academy's role within the Cranbrook Educational Community, with the region's cultural institutions and in the art world.Materials from the 1990s and 2000s become more general to the Academy with less evidence of Yares himself. The Art Museum is also represented less in...