Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is proud to announce Dominica Baird as Chair for the university’s pioneering Business of Beauty and Fragrance program within the De Sole School of Business Innovation. Baird assumes her role immediately for the 2023-2024 academic year.

An accomplished SCAD alumnus with an M.A. in luxury and fashion management and a B.A. in fashion design, Baird brings over fifteen years of experience as a leader, strategist, storyteller and trend innovator in the beauty and fashion industries. As Chair, Baird will oversee the academic leadership and vision for the business of beauty and fragrance program at SCAD, one of the university’s fastest growing majors. SCAD is the global leader for innovation in higher education, and in her new role, Baird will guide the business of beauty and fragrance curriculum. Since launching in 2018, the program’s groundbreaking focus of study is dedicated to all facets of innovation within the industry, and to preparing SCAD students for elite, successful careers.

“I am delighted to join SCAD as the new chair of the department of the business of beauty and fragrance, and doubly enthused to bring great energy and focus into this new academic year,” said Dominica Baird. “I was privileged to earn my master’s degree in luxury fashion management at SCAD, which set me up for an incredible decade-and-a-half at the high end of the industry. Bringing that experience back to SCAD—while working in gorgeous Morris Hall with my colleagues and our students—is a dream come true.”

Most recently, Baird held the position as Global Director of Trends and Digital Innovation at Maybelline (L'Oréal), influencing and translating global product concepts into real-world activations. Her insights have redefined storytelling, identified groundbreaking opportunities, and accurately forecasted macro beauty trends that have rippled through culture and society. Prior to Maybelline, Baird was a highly sought after beauty, fashion, and marketing consultant and previously a fashion designer for luxury womenswear brand Elie Tahari. For the past three years, Baird has also engaged with the university’s students as a professional mentor.

“Dominica Baird embodies a unique blend of experience, creativity, and mentorship, and as we build upon our incomparable business of beauty and fragrance program at SCAD, a keen understanding of industry insights and innovation is essential,” says Meloney Moore, Associate Dean for the De Sole School of Business Innovation. “Our students know that what distinguishes our program is that they are learning from professionals who have already excelled at the top of their industry. We are excited to have Dominica's talent, experience, and leadership propel this program to new heights.”

SCAD offers an elite academic program dedicated to the business of beauty and fragrance, an over $530 billion-dollar global industry. Through exceptional instruction guided by faculty with international experience at the world’s most prestigious and compelling brands, SCAD students are prepared at an expert level to succeed in their creative professions in this lucrative, and ever-evolving field. SCAD students gain an in-depth understanding of the beauty industry grounded in future-forward marketing techniques, product development, branding packaging, and entrepreneurship. The program culminates with the development of a new-to-market beauty brand, product, business model and retail strategy.

Students in the program also have the exclusive opportunity to network with industry leaders and innovators through professional mentor engagements and signature university events dedicated to beauty, style, and design such as SCADstyle, throughout the academic year. Students and alumni from SCADs’s business of beauty and fragrance program have earned awards and accolades from prestigious international scholarship competitions such as Ulta Beauty Muse 100, Council of Fashion Designers of America, Fashion Scholarship Fund, Virgil Abloh Post-Modern Scholarship, and more. Alumni of SCAD’s beauty and fragrance program now hold leadership positions at the world’s top beauty brands including L'Oréal, Estee Lauder, Coty, Chanel, Lancôme, Saks Fifth Avenue, MAC Cosmetics, Maybelline, and more.

For more information about SCAD’s top-ranked business of beauty and fragrance degree program, please visit scad.edu.