The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma (OU) is pleased to announce that Jerald (Jerry) Merriman, a University of Oklahoma Architecture alumnus (Class of 1971), has been honored with the 2022 OU Regents’ Alumni Award.
The Regents’ Alumni Awards recognizes alumni and friends who have made a distinctive impact on the University of Oklahoma through their exceptional achievements, service and transformational support.
Award recipients best represent a spirit of community and commitment to excellence demonstrating the University’s highest values. The Regents’ Alumni Award has been one of the University’s most prestigious honors since 1987.
The 2022 Award recipients will be recognized at the annual Regents’ Alumni Awards Ceremony during Homecoming Weekend. Award recipients’ names will be highlighted on the Regents’ Alumni Awards Wall of Distinction in the Oklahoma Memorial Union and be listed on the OU Alumni Regents’ Alumni Awards web site linked below.
Upon receiving his first professional degree in architecture from OU, “Jerry” made his way to Dallas, eventually opening Merriman Architects in 1987 together with his wife Deby. Jerry’s firm made its first donation to OU in 1993, only six years after it was founded. Since then, Jerry has supported OU and advanced its mission of excellence in a myriad of ways. He has served on the Gibbs College Board of Visitors since 2010, as chair since 2014. He has been a key advisor to Dean Hans E. Butzer in formulating the college’s ambitious 26×26 capital campaign to be launched in late 2022. Since 1993, Jerry has generously contributed in excess of $700,000 to the University of Oklahoma. Jerry and Deby have created life-changing scholarships for architecture students. In appreciation for their generous support, various spaces throughout Gould Hall are named in their honor.
Jerry’s firm has been a beacon for Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture graduates. His firm employs countless alumni. Among them, one recent graduate who has been entrusted to lead the firm Jerry helped found. In 2019, Jerry received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dallas Business Journal.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
