Merchandising and Fashion Design Department

Meet the Faculty: Dr. Jenifer Roberts

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Portrait of Dr. Jenifer Roberts
Dr. Jenifer Roberts

“When people hear the word ‘fashion,’ they think all we do is dress people. Fashion is much more than dressing people,” said Dr.

Roberts. “It is a $3 trillion dollar business that employs product developers, buyers, merchandisers, marketers, accounts, designers and many more.”  

Dr. Roberts, assistant professor of merchandising and fashion design (MFD), started her career in fashion at the young age of 16. She held various positions throughout high school and college before earning her Master of Education from MSU. 

Returning to MSU 

After a career in the industry, she jumped at the chance to return and teach at her alma mater.  

“17 years later, here I am. I am grateful for my industry experience because I can teach from experience, not from a book,” she said. 

Inspiring students 

“Watching the students gain confidence through classroom knowledge and internships has been my favorite part,” said Dr. Roberts. “I am always humbled that I was able to make a positive impact on them, and I am grateful to have played a small role in their lives.” 

Dr. Roberts is the faculty sponsor for the Student Association of Fashion and Design (AFAD) as well as Sartorial Magazine, the online student fashion magazine. 

Dr. Roberts wants people to know that the MFD department is a unique niche in the College of Business.  

Students at MSU benefit from a solid foundation in business course work in addition to their fashion courses. This is a unique model not seen at many other universities. 

 

Learn more about merchandising and fashion design. 

Meet the Faculty: Dr. Cathy Starr

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The fabric of fashion design

Portrait of Cathy Starr
Dr. Cathy Starr

Students in Missouri State University’s merchandising and fashion design program can study textiles with a professor who is deeply passionate about this topic in fashion.  

Textiles are quite literally the fabric of the fashion industry. Understanding the yarns, threads and wools that can be spun, woven and tied to manufacture clothing is essential for fashion designers. 

“I love textiles,” Dr. Starr said. Her office is draped with various patterns and prints of different materials. “What a wonderful job to have where I can take my collection and share it with my students to show them different kinds of fabrics.”  

“The students are what make it worthwhile.” 

As a student, Dr. Starr was in a program for FACS Education, a program involving fashion, nutrition, cooking and childcare.  

However, every time she went to enroll for classes, she was drawn to design. She eventually switched her major to apparel design. 

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in apparel design, she focused on functional design for her master’s degree. 

Functional design 

Functional design focuses on creating clothing that is specifically designed and engineered to ensure predefined performance requirements and functionality for the user. 

Dr. Starr has worked on several different functional design projects, including research on garments for firefighters, including cooling vests and hazmat suits. 

“I love that I’m able to work with an area of interest that I’m just as excited about today, if not more excited, than I was when I first started,” she said. “It’s never boring. We’re always changing.” 

MSU’s best kept secret 

“Fashion studies are alive and well at Missouri State University. We are a department that is growing, and we’re very competitive with other universities similar to ours,” she said.  

“Sometimes I think that we’re the best kept secret at Missouri State.”

Learn more about merchandising and fashion design.

Meet the Department Head: Dr. Elizabeth Rozell

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Portrait of Elizabeth Rozell
Dr. Elizabeth Rozell

Dr. Rozell serves as associate dean, director of the MBA program and the department head of merchandising and

fashion design. 

A series of leadership changes led to Dr. Rozell taking on these jobs. She was a management professor at MSU before starting as MBA Director in 2009 and associate dean in 2011. 

As merchandising and fashion design department head, a role she began in 2017, Dr. Rozell gets to see the more creative side of business.  

“I really love seeing all the creativity from the students,” Dr. Rozell said.

“I love the things they do and the clothes they create—how they are inspired by certain things and then create garments with that inspiration.” 

Getting the word out about the department can be a challenge since it is tucked away in the Park Central Office Building in Downtown Springfield. 

“It’s a hidden jewel. It’s a challenge that we have to overcome because we’re not in Glass Hall, so we don’t have the visibility other departments do,” she said. 

“I appreciate our fashion faculty. They have a lot of industry experience, great educational backgrounds, and they really care about the students,” she said. “The faculty is interested in keeping the curriculum up to date and continually improving.”  

Dr. Rozell earned two degrees from MSU—the first a bachelor’s in accounting which propelled her into the world of public accounting. After that, she pursued an MBA in management at MSU and then went on to earn a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the University of Mississippi. 

Learn more about the merchandising and fashion design department.