The Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to announce that Sanjita Basnet, a graduate student in the Master’s in Regional and City Planning program at the University of Oklahoma, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 American Planning Association (APA) Foundation Diversity Scholarship.
Awarded by the APA Foundation, the highly competitive scholarship supports students who intend to pursue careers in planning and who bring diverse perspectives to the profession. This year, only 21 students nationwide were selected to receive the award, which provides $5,000 in direct support toward academic expenses.
Basnet’s academic work and professional aspirations are grounded in community-engaged planning and the creation of built environments that respond meaningfully to the people they serve. Reflecting on the honor, she shared that receiving the 2025 APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship will have a significant impact on her academic and professional journey.
With her planning degree, Basnet is committed to prioritizing community input as a central component of sustainable community development and responsible planning practice. She described the scholarship as more than financial support, noting that it brings together planning professionals from a wide range of backgrounds and empowers recipients to address long-standing challenges within the field. Basnet expressed deep gratitude to the APA Foundation for its generous support and for investing in the next generation of planners.
Gibbs College congratulates Sanjita Basnet on this outstanding honor and looks forward to the impact she will continue to make through her academic and professional work.
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.
