Photograph by Cormac Coyne of the Plassey

Marilyn Corson Whitney: A Life in Four Parts
Swimmer: While a student at Pine Crest Preparatory School (1968) and Michigan State University (1972 Bachelor of Art and 1974 Master of Art), Whitney was a world-class swimmer. In the British Empire Games (1966) and Pan American Games (1967) she won two silvers and three bronze medals for Canada. She won a bronze medal at the Mexico City Olympic Games (1968) and was a semi-finalist in the 100m butterfly at the Munich Olympic (1972). She has been inducted into Canada’s Circle of Excellence (Hall of Fame) and recently selected as one of the top 1,000 college swimmers by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of American. Swimming continues to be an essential aspect to her life.
Interior Designer: In 1976, Whitney began her career with Carters’ Designs In 1983, she launched Whitney Interiors, Inc. (WII). During thirty-five years of practice, she completed over 250 projects. WII specialized in high-end corporate headquarters, university facilities, low-income housing, and residential interiors. The completion of a sustainable home in Florida (April 2009) netted the architect, builder, and interior designer many awards for energy efficiency, solar power, and creative scholarship. With an HERS rating of -9, the home continues to be one of the most efficient houses in the United States. Three magazines featured the unique assets of this home.
Whitney has also received recognition and awards for the innumerable hours that she volunteered to the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) and the Coalition for Interior Design Registration (CIDR). In 1990, she represented the United States in a design exchange with the Soviet Union.
Educator: Concurrent with her design practice Whitney taught part-time at two universities for twenty years. In 2003, to augment her innate teaching abilities and research design theory and philosophy, she enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. While at Virginia Tech, she taught as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Whitney was selected as a Featured Graduate Student and was a finalist for Outstanding Female Graduate Student in 2005. In 2008, she earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning. Her dissertation was published in 2010 by Verlag as Interior Design and Licensure: a History of the Process of Professionalism. Whitney became a full-time professor at Savannah College of Art and Design in 2007 and Adrian College in 2011 to 2014.
Author: When Whitney retired, she moved to Vermont, joking that she would write a book like Bob Louden on the Bob Newhart Show. Then she had a dream about a restaurant appearing in the basement of a magic house. Whitney used the sequestration of COVID-19 to write her first of seven cozy fantasy novels. She smiles, “I loved escaping to Ireland each day with my imaginary friends. Bridgette’s story reflects my experience of being part of a cohort of brilliant young women at Virginia Tech, where my friends taught me that my compassionate heart had more value to them than all of my achievements listed above.”
Since, 2023, Whitney is residing in Ireland, England, Greece and Turkiye, as her visas allow, to gain more insights to her novels.
Interior Designer: In 1976, Whitney began her career with Carters’ Designs In 1983, she launched Whitney Interiors, Inc. (WII). During thirty-five years of practice, she completed over 250 projects. WII specialized in high-end corporate headquarters, university facilities, low-income housing, and residential interiors. The completion of a sustainable home in Florida (April 2009) netted the architect, builder, and interior designer many awards for energy efficiency, solar power, and creative scholarship. With an HERS rating of -9, the home continues to be one of the most efficient houses in the United States. Three magazines featured the unique assets of this home.
Whitney has also received recognition and awards for the innumerable hours that she volunteered to the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) and the Coalition for Interior Design Registration (CIDR). In 1990, she represented the United States in a design exchange with the Soviet Union.
Educator: Concurrent with her design practice Whitney taught part-time at two universities for twenty years. In 2003, to augment her innate teaching abilities and research design theory and philosophy, she enrolled in the Ph.D. program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. While at Virginia Tech, she taught as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Whitney was selected as a Featured Graduate Student and was a finalist for Outstanding Female Graduate Student in 2005. In 2008, she earned her Ph.D. in Environmental Design and Planning. Her dissertation was published in 2010 by Verlag as Interior Design and Licensure: a History of the Process of Professionalism. Whitney became a full-time professor at Savannah College of Art and Design in 2007 and Adrian College in 2011 to 2014.
Author: When Whitney retired, she moved to Vermont, joking that she would write a book like Bob Louden on the Bob Newhart Show. Then she had a dream about a restaurant appearing in the basement of a magic house. Whitney used the sequestration of COVID-19 to write her first of seven cozy fantasy novels. She smiles, “I loved escaping to Ireland each day with my imaginary friends. Bridgette’s story reflects my experience of being part of a cohort of brilliant young women at Virginia Tech, where my friends taught me that my compassionate heart had more value to them than all of my achievements listed above.”
Since, 2023, Whitney is residing in Ireland, England, Greece and Turkiye, as her visas allow, to gain more insights to her novels.