Dr. John Harris, Director of the OU Division of Regional + City Planning, and Dr. Firat Demir, professor of Economics at the University of Oklahoma, recently received a renewed grant from the Carnegie Corporation to continue the work of the Center for Peace and Development (CPD) and the Security in Context Network (SIC) through 2024.
The Carnegie Corporation had previously provided funding for the CPD and SIC Network from 2020 through 2022, and the renewed award of $275,000 will continue to fund the work of the Center for Peace and Development, including basic research on grassroots peacebuilding, applied community engagement, the CPD fellowship program, and facilitates discussions of global concern with partners across the world.
The University of Oklahoma’s Center for Peace and Development is a part of the Security in Context Network, which is an interdisciplinary network of university nodes promoting collaborative research, policy analysis and outreach on key questions regarding peace and conflict, the political economy of security and insecurity, and international norms. The CPD builds on the University of Oklahoma’s longtime work with communities in northern Uganda, bringing together OU faculty and students from across disciplines to build collaborative partnerships with communities affected by conflict.
Dr. Demir is one of the CPD’s co-directors, and Dr. Harris serves on the Center’s Executive Committee. To learn more about the Center’s work, visit their website.
Robert L. Wesley, a pioneering architect and beloved mentor, has died at age 88. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Wesley joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became the firm's first Black partner in 1984. Throughout his career, he contributed to significant architectural projects while maintaining a strong commitment to civic engagement and professional mentorship.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to celebrate a series of recent accomplishments by Dr. Jim Collard, Professor of Practice in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, whose work continues to shape conversations around Indigenous economic development nationally and internationally.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans E. [PA1.1]Butzer returned to one of his most significant works on December 15, joining survivors and past and present board members for the groundbreaking of a $15.8 million expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
