Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Division, is the first author on the report Oil and Blood: The Color of Wealth in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This report is part of a series of reports that investigates the modern racial wealth gap in six major U.S. cities published by the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University.
Oil and Blood explains how the Tulsa Massacre destroyed the economic gains previously attained by Black residents of Tulsa in the wake of the oil boom at the turn of the twentieth century. While Tulsa was once home to a thriving “Black Wall Street” in the Greenwood district, it now has the largest Black-white wealth gap in the six cities the Samuel DuBois Cook Center has studied. The average Black household in Tulsa possesses just 9% of the wealth of the average white household. The report finds that the specific Black-white wealth gap in Tulsa stems largely from differences in the rate of entrepreneurship and homeownership between the two groups. The differences in entrepreneurship and homeownership are likely the long-lasting effects of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre during which many businesses and homes of Black residents were destroyed.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Dr. Tammy McCuen, Robert E. Busch Professor of Construction Science, on beginning her term as president of the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC), an international organization dedicated to advancing construction education through teaching, research and service.
Following years of contributions to the College’s research and strategic initiatives, Gibbs College shares that Associate Dean for Research and External Engagement Angela M. Person, PhD, will step down from her position at Gibbs College as she moves to Tucson with her family, effective June 30, 2026.
On April 24, 2026, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture hosted its annual Graduate Student Showcase, a celebration of research, design innovation, and creative exploration across all graduate programs within the College.
