Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
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.
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Tim Stephens has accepted the position of Senior Director of Development for Gibbs College, beginning April 15, 2026.
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.
Tanvin Mahtub Fariha, a first-year Master of Landscape Architecture student in the Gibbs College of Architecture and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, has earned recognition for her work.
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.
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.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, Assistant Professor of Regional and City Planning, has been selected to serve as Co-Chair of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Planners of Color Interest Group (POCIG) for the 2025–2027 term.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Tahsin Tabassum, a recent graduate of the college’s Master of Regional and City Planning program and current doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, for receiving the prestigious 2024–2025 American Planning Association (APA) Outstanding Student Award.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the 2025 Graduate Student Research Enhancement (GSRE) Award, a new program designed to support graduate-led research with strong potential to advance scholarship across the design and construction disciplines.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to announce that the University of Oklahoma Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships has awarded $30,052 through the Strategic Equipment Investment Program (SEIP) to support the launch of the Mobile Urban Design Unit (MUDU). This new resource will allow OU teams to bring high-quality tools for research and community engagement directly into towns and neighborhoods across Oklahoma.
On November 19, 2025, Gibbs College of Architecture hosted a panel focused on how artificial intelligence can be integrated into the University of Oklahoma’s (OU) and College’s policies and practices, as well as its teaching and research efforts.
Charles Warnken, an associate professor in the University of Oklahoma’s Master of Regional and City Planning (MRCP) program, is leading a major national academic event in his role as the National Conference Committee Chair for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
The University of Oklahoma’s Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture hosted the inaugural Oklahoma Housing Supply Accelerator Coalition event on November 13, 2025, a day-long gathering dedicated to addressing the state’s growing housing challenges and exploring solutions to expand the supply of attainable homes.
Walter Kolb, age 89, died peacefully on October 14, 2025, following a prolonged illness. He was born in New York City on March 18, 1936, to Hans and Lina Kolb. He was raised in the Bronx and received a geology scholarship at Oklahoma State University. In time, his interests turned toward urban planning, and he went on to complete a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. Walter served in the Air Force reserve.
The Lemon Family Distinguished Speaker Series in Community and Real Estate Development launched this fall with its inaugural lecture delivered by Jared Della Valle, CEO and Co-Founder of Alloy Development.
The Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design is excited to announce that a new agreement has been formally established between Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) and the University of Oklahoma’s Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. This partnership creates a direct and seamless transfer pathway for students from the Associate Arts (AA) of Diversified Studies at OCCC to the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Environmental Design (EnD) at OU.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support. Jack Crowley is part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support. Oscar Concessao is part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support.
Telesis is the student-led journal at the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture. The Telesis team is considering the theme of “DESIGN_LESS” in its forthcoming issue (Vol. VIII). We invite you to contribute your work–design proposals, essays, stories, poetry, art, or other media–to this exciting publication until November 14, 2025. Contributors may be students, faculty, professionals, or community members from inside and outside the University of Oklahoma.
Gibbs College welcomes new assistant professors Terry Clinefelter in the Haskell & Irene Lemon Construction Science Division and Dr. Wei Liu in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, Assistant Professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design at the OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has recently published her research in the prestigious journal Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning. Her article, “Unveiling the dynamics of innovation districts: An empirical study of key features and governance structure in fourteen U.S. cities,” explores the growing phenomenon of innovation districts (IDs)—place-based strategies designed to foster entrepreneurship, collaboration, and economic development in urban areas.
20 students in the Gibbs College of Architecture’s American School Design+Build (ASDB) program, including 13 architecture students, 6 construction science students and 1 environmental design student, are partnering this semester with WildCare Oklahoma, and together they have been named one of five North American finalists for the Land Rover Defender Service Awards. The honor carries the opportunity for a $30,000 grant, with funding supported by Chase and other high-profile sponsors, including Disney. Public voting is now open through October 19, 2025, to determine the winner of the Animal, Wildlife & Marine Welfare Award.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture has earned national recognition with its student-produced journal Telesis, which has been awarded the 2025 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals by the Center for Architecture in New York City.
The Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design at the University of Oklahoma’s Gibbs College is pleased to announce the appointment of incoming Assistant Professor, Dr. Wei Liu, beginning in Fall 2025.
Please join us in congratulating the 2025 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. Recipients were honored by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting and will be recognized during the college awards banquet in October. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to share that Frank Hicks, a graduate student in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, has been selected for the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s (LAF) Ignite Program. Ignite is a national, multi-year program that provides participants with a $10,000 annual scholarship, paid summer internships, and one-on-one professional mentorship.
Regional + City Planning student Landon Jones was hired as an intern with the City of Oklahoma City’s Planned Development and Implementation Division in the Planning Department.
Lahari Peluri, an alumna of the University of Oklahoma’s Urban Design program and Urban Planner III at Freese and Nichols, presented at the Barcelona Livable Cities Conference 2025, hosted by AMPS Research at La Salle BCN.
Telesis, a journal produced by students and faculty in the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has earned first-place with the 2025 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals for its sixth volume, “The Essence.”
Jessica Steele, second-year landscape architecture graduate student, was invited to speak on the topic of Low-Impact Development at this year’s Sustainable Urban Landscape Conference at the Oklahoma City Convention Center. Her discussion included ways to adapt to increasing threats of localized flooding and strategies to improve biodiversity and add aesthetic value to our environments.
The City of Shawnee, in collaboration with Pottawatomie Go, and the University of Oklahoma (OU), has been awarded a $172,264 planning grant for the 2024-25 period. This grant, provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation, will be used to develop a comprehensive Safe Streets Action Plan aimed at enhancing the safety and infrastructure of Shawnee’s streets.
At a recent American Planning Association (APA) and Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) data session during the 2025 ACSP Administrator’s Conference, Oklahoma was recognized as a national leader in planning education and professional engagement.
The University of Oklahoma’s Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture & Design (PLAD) is proud to announce Dez Harris as the inaugural recipient of the Ralph Ochsner Fellowship, a prestigious award created to support students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, character, and a commitment to community-focused planning.
Regional and City Planning students worked with Tulakes Neighborhood Ministries in Oklahoma City to offer recommendations for their site needs and possible paths for expanded services.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture dean Hans E. Butzer addresses graduates during the Spring 2025 commencement ceremony.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to announce the release of Telesis “Unfold,” the dynamic seventh volume of its award-winning student journal. Fully led, curated, and created by students, this seventh volume embraces the theme of unfolding, encouraging deep reflection, process-driven exploration, and storytelling from the margins.
Two students from the Gibbs College of Architecture, Cole Burris and Leandra LeForce, were recently named Mr. and Miss Indigenous OU. The titles were awarded as part of the annual Mr. and Miss Indigenous OU competition, a campus-wide event that celebrates Native culture, identity, and leadership.
A team of graduate students from the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture claimed a significant victory April 27, earning top honors in the Multi-Family Housing Division of the international BuildingNEXT competition, held at the U.S. Department of Energy’s laboratory in Golden, Colorado.
On Wednesday, April 9, Master of Landscape Architecture students Giselle Walker and Jeremy Crites represented their peers at the Oklahoma Board of Governors of Licensed Architects, Landscape Architects, and Licensed Interior Designers (OBA) board meeting.
On April 18, 2025, 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. The event transformed Gould Hall into a vibrant exhibition of ideas where students shared their work with faculty, peers, and the broader community.
A group of Landscape Architecture students in LA Studio II visited the Seminole Nation Museum in Seminole, OK, as part of their site analysis for a development project during the Spring 2025 semester.
An unprecedented coalition of Oklahoma’s academic institutions, Tribal Nations, industry leaders, nonprofits, and government agencies has officially submitted a full proposal to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Engines Program. Titled WxFORGE — Forging New Frontiers in Extreme Weather Resilience and Innovation, the effort aims to position Oklahoma as a national leader in resilient infrastructure technologies, workforce development, and weather-adaptive innovations.
Lahari Peluri, an alumna of OU’s Master of Urban Design program, recently contributed to a project that was honored with the prestigious Vernon Deines Award by the American Planning Association’s Small Town and Rural Planning Division. The Stephenville 2050 Comprehensive Plan, envisions a more resilient, community-driven future for the City of Stephenville, Texas, and stands out as a model for small-town planning nationwide.
Gibbs College of Architecture proudly announces the successful reaccreditation of its Landscape Architecture program by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB).
Please join the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture in celebrating our four Outstanding Seniors in the Class of 2025, one from each of Gibbs College’s undergraduate programs.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to share that Dr. Sarah Little, Associate Director of the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design at the University of Oklahoma, was named the 2025 Winner of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Faculty Excellence in Service Learning Award (Senior Faculty Level).
The OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the Leadership in Built Environment Research (L-BER) seed funding program. The inaugural pilot project, "Data-Driven Approaches for Addressing Rural Transportation Challenges and Enhancing Community Health and Wellbeing," is led by Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, an assistant professor of Regional and City Planning in the Gibbs College of Architecture
This April, architectural historian and preservationist Dr. Amber N. Wiley will release her book, Model Schools in the Model City, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Dr. Wiley is an associate professor of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and the Wick Cary Director of the Institute for Quality Communities in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma.
A message from Dr. Amber N. Wiley, director of the OU Institute for Quality Communities.
The 2025 Charles W. Graham Travel Study Gala was a record-breaking success, with over $75,000 raised. The proceeds from this event directly benefit students who are eager to travel and gain hands-on learning experiences.
Thirteen graduate students in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma are helping bring nature-focused design to the Child Study Center at the University of Central Oklahoma. The project, part of the Nature Explore program, integrates native plants and natural materials to create immersive outdoor play spaces that foster children’s learning and connection with nature.
Students in the Regional and City Planning (RCPL) program’s studio course are putting their skills to work in Taft, Oklahoma, one of thirteen remaining Black townships in the state. This multi-semester project is focused on helping the town develop a zoning framework that reflects its unique history and future goals.
Recently, PLAD instructor LaTasha Timberlake led 16 students enrolled in the Environmental Design Practicum course, providing them with an opportunity to connect classroom learning with practical application. The course is designed to help students apply their skills and theories to community projects, including work with grassroots organizations in northeast Oklahoma City, an area experiencing urban changes.
Following a national search, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma has named Dr. Amber Wiley as the new director of the Institute for Quality Communities. An award-winning scholar, Wiley brings more than 15 years of experience in teaching, research and professional practice in historic preservation, architecture and community engagement.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, an assistant professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, has published an Open Access textbook titled “Green Cities and Transportation” in collaboration with scholars from the University of Texas at Arlington. This comprehensive guide explores the intersection of urban planning and transportation to advance sustainable mobility, mitigate climate change, and promote transportation equity for low-income communities.
Shawn Schaefer, Associate Director of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD), Director of the Urban Design Studio and Associate Professor at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, will retire in May 2025, concluding over two decades of dedicated service and leadership in urban design education and community service at OU.
OU Gibbs College of Architecture faculty in partnership with OU Gallogly College of Engineering and the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) have developed the Oklahoma Housing Needs Assessment. The project was supported by a $925,487 grant from the OHFA to create a comprehensive tool and accompanying report to plan for and address housing needs across Oklahoma.
Telesis, the student-led journal at the University of Oklahoma’s Gibbs College of Architecture, proudly announces the release of its sixth volume, “The Essence”. This edition embarks on a profound journey to rediscover what lies at the core of our work as designers and creators, a return to fundamentals in an era often characterized by superficiality and digital distractions.
The 2024 Gibbs College of Architecture Celebration Banquet brought together students, faculty, alumni, and donors to celebrate scholarship awards and induct three distinguished alumni into the Gibbs College Hall of Fame. Held at the Sam Noble Museum, the event recognized the achievements and commitment of the Gibbs College community.
Petya Stefanoff, a Ph.D. student in OU’s Planning, Design and Construction degree program, has been honored with the Annual Outstanding Plan Award by the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Planning Association, alongside her teammates.
University of Oklahoma senior Mohamed Elgouhari has been named a finalist in the SEC Start Up competition for student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference for his personal fitness app Gametime Rehab.
Vanessa Morrison, interim director of the Institute for Quality Communities and faculty member at Gibbs College, and Deborah Richards, assistant professor of architecture, were recently featured in the design magazine “Metropolis“. In addition to their roles at Gibbs College, Morrison and Richards are co-founders of Open Design Collective, a nonprofit design firm based in Oklahoma City that works to empower Black communities through architecture, urban planning, and cultural preservation.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support.
Tahsin Tabassum, a second-year student at OU’s master’s program in Regional and City Planning, has been honored with the Ed McClure Award for Best Master’s Student Paper by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). Her paper, titled “Exploring Transportation Justice and Equity through the Transportation Justice Threshold Index Framework in Municipalities of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma,” was recognized for its innovative approach to addressing transportation equity. Her paper was developed as part of a project for her “Transportation Geography and Planning” course.
University of Oklahoma senior Mohamed Elgouhari has been named a finalist in the SEC Start Up competition for student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference for his personal fitness app Gametime Rehab.
Gibbs College is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards. These outstanding individuals were honored by dean Hans E. Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting on August 14, 2024. Recipients were selected by the Gibbs College Awards Committee following an open nomination process.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma (OU) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. John Harris to a four-year term as the inaugural Director of the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture & Design (PLAD), effective July 1, 2024.
Regional and City Planning professor, Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, has recently published an article in the prestigious Journal of Planning Literature. The article, titled “How Remote Working and Placelessness Affect Future Planning for Innovation Districts: A Systematic Review of the Literature,” examines the impacts of telework and the gig economy on planning for innovation districts.
On April 11, 2024, The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) hosted Clyde Higgs, President and CEO of the Atlanta BeltLine, to share lessons learned from the iconic project. The fully booked event drew dozens of students, members of the Taft community, event sponsors, and friends from the broader metro community.
Iman Moradi Naftchali, a student in the Master of Landscape Architecture program, was recently honored with a Merit Award from the Central States chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Moradi received this award for “Bud to Bloom,” a revitalization project he completed as part of his master’s studio course with Abdulmueen Bogis.
On April 22, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture celebrated the annual Gibbs Design Activism Awards. The GDAA is a grant initiative that supports student-led design and research projects that engage topics of community, social and economic concerns across Oklahoma.
An interdisciplinary group of OU scholars led a tour of Route 66 in Oklahoma, one of eight competitively selected sites for the National Humanities Center’s first “Being Human” festival. The festival consists of events designed to "highlight the incredible breadth of the humanities and demonstrate how they add depth and meaning to our lives, help us understand ourselves and one another, and provide context for the complex world around us.”
Ladan Mozaffarian, assistant professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, recently participated in the esteemed International Conference on Urban Affairs. This annual event brings together urban-focused researchers, planners and policy advocates to examine strategies to make cities more equitable and resilient.
Gibbs College faculty Vanessa Morrison and Lisa Chronister were recently featured in the Women in Preservation video series by the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office. The series was launched during Women’s History Month in March to recognize women’s contributions to historic preservation in the state.
Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional and City Planning, recently published an article in The Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. The article, “Societal Transformation Through Social Entrepreneurial Action Research,” explores recent research Lowery conducted with collaborators from the San Diego State University Fowler College of Business and School of Public Affairs.
In collaboration with OU Landscape Services, first-year Environmental Design student Justin Jones is designing new planting beds on the east side of Gould Hall. This project ties into Jones’s Field Work course with Ron Frantz, director of the EnD Division.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities recently hosted a Route 66 Placemaking Retreat in collaboration with the OU Arts and Humanities Forum. The retreat was funded by an Oklahoma Humanities “Community Discussions” grant that an interdisciplinary OU team received in November. This retreat built upon the team’s site visits and community discussions in several historic towns along Route 66.
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Nominations are now open for the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame. The goal of the Gibbs Hall of Fame is to recognize a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact over time to Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities is proud to announce the visit of Clyde Higgs, President and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine Inc, on Thursday, April 11th to share stories and lessons learned from the iconic Atlanta BeltLine project. The event will take place at Gould Hall’s Buskuhl Gallery from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. RSVP is required to attend.
Open Design Collective, a non-profit organization founded by Gibbs College Professors Vanessa Morrison and Deborah Richards, was recently awarded an Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. Open Design will receive $500,000 to engage, support and strengthen community-led efforts in the historically Black John F. Kennedy Neighborhood in Northeast Oklahoma City.
Although he was born and died in North Texas (Wichita Falls and Tyler), Norm was a proud Sooner. Raised and educated in Wewoka and Norman, he became Midwest City’s first planning director, later assuming the role of planning director for Oklahoma City during the mid-1970s.
In collaboration with the Institute for Quality Communities, OU Interior Design and Environmental Design students are working on an adaptive reuse project in Taft, Oklahoma. Taft is a small town located in Muskogee County and is one of Oklahoma’s thirteen remaining Black townships. In 2023, the community reached out to the IQC for assistance in revitalizing the town’s community spaces.
An interdisciplinary team of OU students from the Gibbs College of Architecture, Gallogly College of Engineering and Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication was recently selected as a finalist for the 2024 Solar Decathlon Competition. The team is competing in this year’s Design Challenge in the Single-Family Housing Category.
Regional and City Planning faculty John Harris and Charlie Warnken are part of an interdisciplinary team that was recently awarded a $599,000 Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. With this funding, the OU team will support the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality to prepare a climate action plan that will reduce emissions in communities across the state.
Seven faculty members from the divisions of Regional and City Planning, Architecture and Interior Design were recently awarded funding through Gibbs College’s Program for Research Enhancement. These grants of up to $6,500 are available to full-time faculty members of Gibbs College to support their research and creative activities.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is excited to announce the Spring 2024 Career and Internship Fair! The event will take place on Thursday, February 22, 2024, from 3:30 – 6 p.m. at the Thurman J. White Forum.
In November, the Yukon City Council approved an agreement with the IQC to develop a tree canopy plan for Garth Brooks Boulevard. Yukon planning staff will work closely with a group of OU Environmental Design students, led by Professor Sarah Little, to create unique design concepts for this corridor.
The community of Westville, Oklahoma was recently awarded a Built Environment Grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust to continue implementing a plan developed by OU’s Institute for Quality Communities. With the designs provided by the OU team, Westville city officials hope to enhance the town’s streetscapes and improve overall community connectivity.
Gibbs College’s annual Charles W. Graham Travel Study Gala will be held on February 23, 2024, from 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. at VAST (333 W. Sheridan Ave, 50th Floor, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 – click here for parking information). It will feature a three-course meal with fine wine pairings. Individual tickets are $200. All proceeds support student travel study scholarships and opportunities.
During summer 2023, the fourth annual Grassroots Women’s Peace Conference was convened at St. Monica’s Vocational School in Gulu, Uganda. The conference was organized by OU’s Center for Peace and Development and St. Monica’s as well as 10 other grassroots women’s organizations. The conference also received support from a gift by the Gibbs College of Architecture.
A group of OU graduate Landscape Architecture students recently attended the 2023 National American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Conference in Minneapolis. This ASLA conference is the largest gathering of landscape architects and allied professionals in the world, bringing together attendees to learn, celebrate, build relationships and strengthen friendships within the professional community.
An interdisciplinary team from the University of Oklahoma recently received funding from Oklahoma Humanities, a non-profit organization in Oklahoma City. The funding will support a humanities-informed design experience in preparation for the Route 66 centennial in 2026. The project, Route 66 Placemaking Communities Retreat, will explore placemaking efforts for communities along the historic Mother Road.
This summer, Master of Landscape Architecture students Emma Christ and Rajith Kumar Kedarisetty traveled to Italy as part of the OU study abroad program Landscapes of Italy. This program explores major themes in environmental conservation through the lens of the Mediterranean, past and present.
Telesis is the student-led journal at the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture. Following its last volume, “Adaptive Practice” (Vol. V), the Telesis team is considering the theme of “The Essence” in its forthcoming volume (Vol. VI). We invite you to contribute your work–design proposals, essays, stories, poetry, art or other media–to this exciting publication until Monday, November 27, 2023. Contributors may be students, faculty, professionals, or community members from inside and outside the University of Oklahoma.
Several students from OU’s Master of Landscape Architecture and Regional + City Planning programs recently received awards at the annual meeting of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Each year, the OKASLA hosts an annual conference to recognize exceptional ASLA members and their achievements and discuss relevant topics within the discipline.
The University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture, in partnership with the OU School of Visual Arts, is pleased to announce that Alison Fisher and Craig Lee will give a public lecture as a part of the 2023 Goff Lecture Series. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m. in Nielsen Hall, room 170.
Bruce Wilkinson, OU alumnus and major supporter of Gibbs College, recently received a Regents’ Alumni Award from the OU Board of Regents and OU Alumni Association. This award celebrates the profound way OU alumni and supporters shape the university’s vibrant future.
Theron Warlick, AICP, a 2002 Master of Urban Design alumnus, announced his retirement from the City of Tulsa after 23 years of service. He recently accepted a proclamation from Blake Ewing, the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, declaring Oct. 1 as Theron Warlick Day in the City of Tulsa. This proclamation honors Warlick for his dedication to improving Tulsa cityscapes and his successful career as an urban designer.
Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional and City Planning in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, recently testified before the Oklahoma State Senate Judiciary Committee. Lowery was asked to testify as part of an interim study on housing in Oklahoma. The study, “Housing for All Oklahomans: Availability, Safety, Stability,” was convened by Senator Chuck Hall (OK-20) and Senator Julia Kirt (OK-30) and included testimony from experts about ways the state can improve housing security.
In summer 2023, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Dr. Sarah Little conducted a STEM-focused workshop with interns from RestoreOKC. The workshop focused on the benefits of pollinators, pollinator-friendly plants and green spaces.
Vanessa Morrison, an award-winning urban planner, has agreed to serve as the new interim director of the Institute for Quality Communities. The appointment was announced by Gibbs College Dean Hans Butzer and made effective on Sept. 1, 2023.
OU Urban Design alumni recently teamed up with the Society of Urban Design Students to celebrate International Park(ing) Day. On Sept. 15, they occupied parking spaces in downtown Tulsa to transform on-street parking into urban parklets.
Ronald Frantz Jr, associate professor of Architecture, was recently recognized at the 2023 AIA Honor Awards Celebration. Frantz received the AIA Oklahoma Award for Lifetime Achievement, which recognizes a lifetime of distinguished leadership and dedication in Architecture and the community. This award is AIA Oklahoma’s highest honor.
In collaboration with design and engineering firm Kimley-Horn, the town of Westville, Oklahoma, recently began developing a project created by a team of students from the Institute for Quality Communities. The team’s design concepts have been incorporated into the final plan for a downtown lot and will soon become a reality.
Telesis, the Gibbs College of Architecture’s award-winning student journal, is releasing its fifth edition in Fall 2023. This edition, “Adaptive Practice,” called for contributions from interdisciplinary problem solvers who reject the status quo and redefine “business as usual” through their work.
Recent alumni of OU’s Master of Urban Design program are seeing their visions for Collinsville, Oklahoma, come to life. On Aug. 21, 2023, local officials announced a $4.4 million project in partnership with LandPlan to revitalize Collinsville’s historic downtown area.
Salma Akter Surma, a Ph.D. student in Planning, Design and Construction, was recently awarded the Security in Context Research Fellowship from the OU Center for Peace and Development. During her fellowship, Akter will research how trauma-informed care approaches can be applied in the planning and design process of child-friendly built environments in the refugee context.
The City of Broken Arrow City Council recently adopted the Aspen Landing Waterfront Vision, an ambitious exploration of riverfront development conceptualized by OU Urban Design students. The vision is based on a study by students that identified potential to improve and expand over 230 acres of park land along the riverfront in southern Broken Arrow, known as Aspen Landing.
Gibbs College is excited to announce that Gould Hall underwent several renovations during summer 2023. These building improvements were made in an effort to meet the growing needs of students, faculty and staff, as student enrollment has increased by over 300 students in the past five years.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is excited to announce the Fall 2023 Career and Internship Fair! The event will take place on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, from 3-6 p.m. at the Thurman J. White Forum.
Gibbs College, in partnership with its OU Institute for Quality Communities, is announcing a leadership transition. Shane Hampton has stepped down from the role of executive director of the Institute for Quality Communities, effective Aug. 25. The IQC team will continue to lead programs and projects in the 2023 – 2024 academic year.
Please join us in congratulating the 2023 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. Recipients were honored by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting on Thursday, Aug. 17. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
James Collard, professor of Regional and City Planning and director of planning and economic development for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, was invited to speak at the “Making Global Goals a Local Affair” webinar. The event took place on Aug. 10 and was hosted by the International Economic Development Council.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the creation of the new Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design.
Subhashini Gamagedara, an alumna of the Master of Landscape Architecture program, was recently featured in The Field, the professional practice networks’ blog of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Larry Hopper, FAICP, is an alumnus of the OU Master of Regional and City Planning program and is currently a freelance planning consultant. He was formerly the principal planner for the transit agency for Oklahoma City. Hopper is still an active member of the OU community, and recently donated $25,000 to the Gibbs College of Architecture to establish the Hopper Family’s Planning Scholarship. We sat down with him to learn more about his experience at OU and in the professional planning field, and what inspired him to give back to the university. Read on for highlights.
In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security officially designated Landscape Architecture as a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics degree program. Landscape Architecture was one of only eight fields selected out of 120 submissions under consideration.
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that Thomas Kang is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming fall semester. Thomas Kang is a professor in the Department of Architecture & Architectural Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU) in Korea. Before that, he was a professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at OU and has held various affiliated positions at universities around the world.
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that David Logan is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming school year. Logan is currently the Director of Tax & Trade Policy Analysis for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that Chadwick Allen is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming fall semester, co-sponsored by OU Departments of English, Film & Media Studies, Geography and Native American Studies. Chadwick Allen serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement at the University of Washington Seattle (UW), where he is also a Professor of English and Adjunct Professor of American Indian Studies. He has published numerous books and has conducted interdisciplinary work on Indigenous earthworks – a study of cultural and political revitalization through the built environment.
Following an internal search, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture has appointed Suchismita (Suchi) Bhattacharjee as associate dean for academics and college administration, effective July 1, 2023.
John Harris has agreed to serve as interim director of the newly established Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. The appointment was effective July 1, 2023.
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that Jonathan Tate is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming fall semester. Jonathan Tate is the founder and principal of OJT, an award-winning architecture firm based in New Orleans. OJT was established in 2011 as a creative, expansive, and exploratory practice with a desire to contribute to contemporary discourse.
The Gibbs College of Architecture and OU Libraries invite you to celebrate exhibitions on the American School in California. These exhibitions showcase the works of John Marsh Davis and Mickey Muennig, two architects who studied at OU under Bruce Goff and went on to have distinguished careers in California.
Twelve Gibbs students recently traveled to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona for a travel study course led by Interior Design Professor Mia Kile. Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio in the desert and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark.
A new pergola designed by Urban Design students Virginia Paiva and Samiul Haque was recently installed at Chapman Green in downtown Tulsa. The pergola was funded by a grant from the Claritin® Clarity Parks Project, which helps restore community outdoor spaces that have been impacted by natural disasters.
Oscar Concessao, an alumnus of the OU Master of Urban Design program, and his wife Ponni Concessao recently designed the Telangana State Secretariat, the largest state capitol in India. Their firm, OCI Architects, won a national competition held by the Telangana government and was chosen out of a large pool of accomplished firms.
OU Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that David J. Lewis, a principal of LTL Architects and dean of Parsons School of Constructed Environments, has been appointed as the Goff Chair of Creative Architecture for fall 2023. For his lecture, Lewis will discuss his work related to the Manual of Biogenic House Sections, which articulates how plant-based and low-carbon materials can produce a profound rethinking of section in houses.
The OU Center for Peace and Development (CPD) is now accepting applications for the fall 2023 Security in Context (SiC) Research Fellows grant. All OU graduate students are eligible to apply, and selected students will receive a scholarship of $2,500 for the upcoming fall semester.
During the spring 2023 semester, OU Environmental Design students created reuse design concepts for the historic Jewel Theater in northeast Oklahoma City. Led by Vanessa Morrison, assistant director of OU’s Institute for Quality Communities, students conducted research, listened to local stakeholders and visited historic sites to gain a deeper understanding of the spatial and social challenges facing the Black community in Oklahoma City.
Gibbs College invites applications for several temporary faculty positions. Please help us share these opportunities broadly. We are excited to be adding to our amazing team!
Fernando Costa, a professor of practice in the Regional + City Planning program, recently chaired a seven-member Urban Land Institute (ULI) advisory services panel in Fort Wayne, Indiana. ULI is a global, multidisciplinary research and education organization that promotes best practices in real estate development. Professor Costa currently serves ULI as a Global Governing Trustee, Americas Executive Committee member, and member of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee.
On April 21, Gibbs College celebrated the inaugural Gibbs Design Activism Awards (GDAA). The GDAA is a grant-initiative that supports student-led design and research projects that engage topics of community, social and economic concerns across Oklahoma.
Over the past year, Dr. Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional + City Planning, has been working with a team of University of Oklahoma researchers to study how to best use the $36 million granted to the state of Oklahoma by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support unhoused and housing-insecure Oklahomans. The team’s plan was recently approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, starting the process of allocating the $36 million in resources to the state of Oklahoma.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an Associate Professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently quoted in an article about digital billboards in The Wall Street Journal. Debates in cities like San Diego and Los Angeles suggest ongoing disagreements about where bright digital displays should be permitted in cities.
We sat down with Melisa Seward, a graduate student enrolled in the Master of Landscape Architecture program. We asked Melisa about her time in the program and how it has equipped her for success in her future career.
Regional + City Planning students Logan Gray and Emily Pendergrast recently published op-eds regarding planning issues within Norman and across the state of Oklahoma. The students developed the articles as part of Dr. C. Aujean Lee’s course, “Planning with Diverse Communities.”
On March 20th, hundreds of planning and design professionals, civic leaders, and students gathered at the University of Oklahoma for the 5th biennial Institute for Quality Communities’ Placemaking Conference. The all-day event featured speakers working in a variety of fields, all of which contribute to community placemaking.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently interviewed by NPR reporter Nick Alexandrov for the podcast “Focus: Black Oklahoma.” This KOSU program covers news and public affairs that impact African American and BIPOC communities across Oklahoma.
Environmental Design student Anthony Rodriguez recently published an op-ed in the Oklahoma City Free Press. His article, “Changing Attitudes Over Urban Sprawl Have Taken Hold In OKC,” focuses on the need for social interactions during the pandemic and how mixed-used developments can help foster more social interactions.
On March 29, 2023, Regional + City Planning faculty Dr. John C. Harris and Dr. C Aujean Lee joined doctoral student and Institute for Quality Communities Research Fellow Rebecca Blaine to present to MetaFund about community engagement practices.
Regional + City Planning student Iman Abubakar recently published an op-ed in the OU Daily about transportation inequities in Norman. Iman’s article, “Dismantling transportation barriers to socioeconomic equity,” explores accessibility and frequency issues with Norman’s public transportation system.
The OU Data Institute for Societal Challenges has awarded $2,410.95 in seed money to support a research team that includes Shu Sun, an instructor and Ph.D. student in the Division of Landscape Architecture. The team is conducting the project “Urban Landscape: Eco-social interactions and park configurations influencing human exposure to ticks in Oklahoma City.”
Outstanding OU Urban Design alumni recently gathered at the 2023 State Planning Conference, sponsored by the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA). The APA is a non-profit educational organization that strives to enhance the planning profession and help communities adapt to the rapidly changing environment.
Last summer, researchers at the University of Oklahoma began working with the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency to determine how to best deploy approximately $35 million to support unhoused and housing-insecure Oklahomans. Dr. Bryce Lowery, associate professor in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, worked with Dr. David McLeod and Dr. Christina Miller in the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work and eight graduate students to collect data to determine the best focus for this funding.
In February, OU Landscape Architecture and Regional + City Planning students worked with OSU Landscape Architecture students to host a community event in Perkins, Oklahoma. Students explored the city and engaged with residents to learn more about the small town and the design problems it faces.
In Spring 2022, Landscape Architecture students from Gibbs College collaborated with OU Rainbolt College of Education students on the design of an outdoor play and learning environment at the new Institute of Child Development. The first phase of the project was installed last summer and was recently highlighted in the winter 2023 edition of Sooner Magazine.
Dr. Sarah Little, Acting Director and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at OU, was recently invited to speak at an Environmental Ethics webinar hosted by The University of Georgia. The panel, Young People’s Right to The City, was hosted virtually last Tuesday, February 28, 2023, as a part of the Environmental Ethics Certification Program’s Spring Seminar Series.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional + City Planning (RCPL), recently presented for the University of Texas as Austin’s School of Architecture’s lecture series City Forum. During her talk, “Subcontracting Neighborhood Planning and Impacts on Grassroots Organizing: A Case Study of Oklahoma City,” Dr. Lee shared the work she had been doing with RCPL Director Dr. John Harris about neighborhood planning processes that are conducted through nonprofits.
Dr. Santina Contreras, an Assistant Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, recently visited Gibbs College to present her talk, “Building Resilience through Community Practices: Exploring Community-led Efforts to Address Gaps in Relocation and Resettlement Programs” as part of the Regional + City Planning Kuhlman lecture series.
A gift to the University of Oklahoma will honor alumnus and esteemed architect Bob Faust by creating multiple new faculty and staff positions dedicated to the American School, an innovative design practice developed at OU in the 1950s and ’60s. Sherry Faust, Bob Faust’s spouse, has made a multi-million-dollar planned gift in his honor to University Libraries and OU’s Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture.
The 2023 Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner was a huge success, with about 200 attendees and over $34,000 raised. The 11th annual event was held Friday, February 11, at Vast restaurant in Oklahoma City. The proceeds from this event directly benefit students who are eager to travel and gain hands on learning experiences.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, Associate Professor of Regional and City Planning, was elected to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Governing Board. The ACSP is an organization that connects educators, researchers, and students to expand knowledge about planning education and research.
Join us in listening to Dr. Andrew Van Leuven discuss his experience with the economic development of rural communities in Oklahoma! The event will take place on Thursday, February 9th from 12:00-1:15 in Gould Hall, Room 345.
GCA Communications intern Kathlyn Dannewald spoke with Purvi Patel, a Regional + City Planning alumna here at Gibbs! We sat down with Patel to learn about her experiences with the RCPL program as an international student, and her exciting career in the city planning industry.
The Master’s in Regional + City Planning (MRCP) program is hosting a virtual open house! Join them on zoom to learn more about the degree program. The two sessions will take place virtually on Friday, February 3rd and Friday, February 10th from 12:00-1:00.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an Associate Professor of Regional and City Planning, collaborated with Dr. Madison Swayne, Dr. Iana Castro, and doctoral student Jessica Embry of San Diego State University to explore food security issues in the San Diego County area. Their work was published in Preventing Chronic Disease, a peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Regional + City Planning alumnus Rhys Wilson recently published an APA practice guide, “8 Steps to an Effective Code Transition,” in the American Planning Association publication Zoning Practice. Rhys Wilson graduated from the RCPL program in 2017 and currently works in the Urban Planning + Design division of Freese and Nichols, an engineering, planning and consulting firm working across the Southwest and Southeast United States.
The Regional + City Planning program has taken significant steps to attract and create a supportive environment for international students. In fall 2022, 18 of the 43 RCPL students were international students. In 2019, the RCPL program adopted an Underrepresented Student Recruitment Plan because of the ethical obligations of the planning field to diversify representation and promote institutional change. While the planning field has made successful strides in reaching gender parity, the field is still falling behind in other forms of diversity, including international students and students of color.
The Gibbs College of Architecture’s Division of Regional + City Planning recently celebrated its 75th anniversary as well as its successful Planning Accreditation Board reaccreditation. Established in 1947, the Gibbs Regional + City Planning program is the seventh oldest planning program in the United States. The program boasts over 700 hundred alumni who spend their careers shaping the future of communities across the country.
As part of a collaboration with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, the Institute for Quality Communities, the City of El Reno, Michael Höffner, and Emily Fitzsimmons formed a team to research and provide recommendations concerning Sunset Drive, a stretch of Route 66 west of downtown El Reno, Oklahoma.
The Gibbs College Regional + City Planning Department’s second Kuhlman lecture featuring Dr. Joel Mendez of the University of Kansas is now available on YouTube! The talk was cosponsored by the RCPL department, the OU Center for Peace and Development, and the OU Center for Social Justice.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently invited to speak at Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning’s speaker series. Dr. Lee shared about her experiences crafting a research project, applying for research funding, and the development of her article, “Engaging Non-Citizens in an Age of Uncertainty: Lessons from Immigrant-Serving Nonprofits in Los Angeles County,” in the Journal of the American Planning Association.
The Gibbs College of Architecture’s annual Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner is back for 2022! The dinner will be held on Friday, April 8th, 2022, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Petroleum Club in Oklahoma City. The event will feature a multi-course meal with fine wine pairings.
Gibbs College’s annual Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner will be held on February 10, 2023, from 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. at VAST (333 W. Sheridan Ave, 50th Floor, Oklahoma City, OK 73102). It will feature a three-course meal with fine wine pairings.
The Center for Spatial Analysis recently hosted OU’s 2022 GIS Day, on November 16 in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, featuring a student poster competition with cash prizes giving attendees the opportunity to network with GIS professionals. Two of the undergraduate winners, Daniela Kosnacova and Luke Kerr, were advised by Gibbs College faculty members.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional and City Planning, and Dr. John C. Harris, the Director of the Regional and City Planning program, recently had their article published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Regional and City Planning Alum Chris Bodzioch and his colleagues at the Oklahoma County Assessor’s Office recently won the 2022 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award. The team received this award for their dedication to creating a transparent and accessible source of information for the public.
Recently Gibbs College dean Hans Butzer and Karen Renfroe of the OU Foundation spoke with OU alumnus Michael McKelvy. They sat down with McKelvy to learn more about his position as CEO of McDermott International, his time at OU, and his ideas for the future of design-build education.
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.
Madison Hughes, an alumna of the Regional + City Planning Program, was hired earlier this year at Mosaic Community Planning, a company that works with local governments across the United States to help with housing and community development and engagement projects.
A project team of University of Oklahoma researchers and Oklahoma City civic partners are collaborating to create the Legacy Building Toolset, a digital platform that will allow community members to collectively explore identity, the meaning of place, and create and engage with community assets and more easily allow community members to participate in community collaboration projects.
Students in the University of the Oklahoma Urban Design Studio recently visited the Hispanic Heritage Festival in Tulsa’s Global District. The student conducted a visual preference survey to learn more about international travel connections in the district.
The Division of Regional + City Planning hosted Dr. Andrew Greenlee as part of the Kuhlman lecture series, which is cosponsored by the OU Center for Peace and Development and the Center for Social Justice. Dr. Greenlee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor of Regional and City Planning at OU, was awarded a Big XII Faculty Fellowship for Spring 2023.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently co-authored the article “Combining social network analysis and geographic information system for communication research: an application to immigrant communities” in Cogent Social Sciences.
Gibbs College of Architecture faculty members,Professor Dave Boeck and Dr. Bryce Lowery, recently presented at the 2022 Oklahoma Housing Conference hosted by the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), an organization that works to provide housing resources to the Oklahoman community.
The 2022 Fall Semester marks the 35th Anniversary of Associate Professor Ron Frantz’s being involved with the Historic Preservation course at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture.
The National Brownfields Training Conference was held in Oklahoma City from August 16th through the 19th. The local and national planning committees for the annual conference began work on the meeting in March of 2020. Ron Frantz, Director of the Environmental Design Program, served on the Local Planning Committee’s Mobile Workshops, Socials, and Evening Receptions Committee.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Division, recently published an article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research titled “Who Gets Hired at the Top?: The Academic Caste System Theory in the Planning Academy.” The article is the first to examine detailed faculty demographics and impacts of elite hiring networks among planning faculty, where nearly half of planning faculty graduated from five universities.
John Harris, Director of the Regional + City Planning program, recently published an article in a special issue of the Journal of Urban Affairs titled “The gendered postconflict city: Possibilities for more livable urban transformations in Gulu, northern Uganda.” Harris – along with co-authors Daniel Komakech, David Monk, and Maria del Guadalupe Davidson – attempt to develop theory and urban management concepts around the notion of the gendered postconflict city as a unique urban identity. The article also works to re-center the analysis on the everyday experiences, agency, and city building practices of women.
The RCPL program has an incredibly high placement rate for new graduates. Graduates quickly become leading practitioners in the field of urban planning. Select graduates from the spring are featured below.
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.
Telesis, the Gibbs College of Architecture’s award-winning student journal, is releasing its fourth edition in Fall 2022. This edition, “Habitation,” questions how we may ensure all things, living and non-living, may continue to inhabit our planet. “Habitation” continues the overarching theme explored in “Isolation”: “How can design aid people’s sense of belonging?”
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently published an article in Public Integrity, a leading journal in the field of public administration. Dr. Lee co-authored the article with Aarika Forney, an OU doctoral student in Political Science. The article, titled “A Primer on Asian Americans and Asian American Studies for Public Administration,” serves as an introduction to public administration and public institutions about Asian Americans and community-led efforts to lead to institutional change.
The Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) recently completed a year-long project sponsored by the Association for Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG). ACOG's Community Economic Resiliency Initiative allowed the IQC to launch a new Community Engagement Fellowship, in which four Gibbs faculty members and a dozen Gibbs students provided planning services in the cities of El Reno, Guthrie, and Harrah.
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma, including Dr. Bryce Lowery of the Regional and City Planning Division, are working with the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency to assess services available across the state that help Oklahomans experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.
Please join us in congratulating the 2022 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. Recipients were honored by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting on Thursday, August 18. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, Assistant Professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently interviewed on a TV show in South Korea about anti-Asian violence and stigma. Dr. Lee published an article on anti-Asian hate and local government responses in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, and was invited to be interviewed on an episode of PD Notes, an investigative journalism TV program in South Korea.
Felipe Flores, a PhD Student in Planning, Design, and Construction under the advisement of Dr. Angela Person, recently presented the early stages of his research at the 34th Annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education, NCORE 2022, held in Portland, Oregon.
Dr. Wenwen Cheng, assistant professor of Landscape Architecture, was recently awarded funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to support her project titled “A Spatial Decision Support System for Identifying Heat Vulnerability Based on a Comprehensive Energy Budget Model and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Oklahoma City, OK,” with an amount of $149,163.
A small but dedicated group of OU faculty and students in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture are living out one of the university’s highest aspirations in a very concrete way: to positively impact the state of Oklahoma and its communities through improvements to a main thoroughfare for one under-resourced city while offering students priceless experience in urban design and planning.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently co-authored the article, “Fintech’s relationship with subprime lending in immigrant gateway metropolitan areas,” in the Journal of Urban Affairs.
Dr. Sarah Little, an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, was recently recognized alongside her co-editors – Janet Loeback, Adina Cox, and Patsy Eubanks Owens – by the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) for their work on The Routledge Handbook of Designing Public Spaces for Young People: Process, Practices, and Policies for Youth Inclusion. The book was selected as the 2022 Honorable Mention of EDRA’s Place Book Award.
Five graduates from the Gibbs College of Architecture received Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards this April. This award recognizes the top grade point average for each undergraduate major.
The Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) project partners recently won nearly $150,000 in funding from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) to enhance public spaces and walkability. The City of Pryor Creek and Town of Luther both received funding, which will go to streetscape and park improvements identified in IQC workshops in 2019 and 2020.
Dr. Laura Harjo, an associate professor of Native American Studies and Regional + City Planning faculty affiliate, recently organized and presented the exhibition Muscogee (Creek) Tribal Town Futurity: Spatial Storytelling with Emergent Technologies in the Gould Hall Buskuhl Gallery. She was assisted by Gibbs College’s Dr. Angela Person (Architecture) and Prof. Shawn Schaefer (Urban Design), as well as several Architecture and Urban Design students, Gibbs College staff, and others.
Regional + City Planning alumnus Joseph Laws was recently interviewed by The Oklahoman about new COVID-19 relief funds available to Oklahoma businesses through the American Rescue Plan Act. Joseph is the OKC Rescue Program manager at the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City.
RCPL Assistant Professor Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently presented at the Urban Affairs Association conference in Washington DC. The Urban Affairs Association is dedicated to creating interdisciplinary spaces for engaging in intellectual and practical discussions about urban life.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an associate professor in the Division of Regional + City Planning, is part of the University of Oklahoma Sewage Surveillance Team which recently received the Award for Excellence in Transdisciplinary, Convergent Research. This award was part of the 2022 Norman Campus Faculty Awards and Honors which were recognized during the Faculty Awards Luncheon on April 14th.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis spoke with Anna Siprikova, a Regional + City Planning alumna here at Gibbs! We sat down with Siprikova to learn about her experiences with the RCPL program and her work at NACTO-GDCI as the Program Manager for the Streets for Kids Program.
Dr. Khosrow Bozorgi, Architecture professor, and Dr. Keith Gaddie, Associate Dean of Gibbs College, have authored a book manuscript titled “Philadelphia House: Genius Loci - Concept of Placemaking.” Based on over ten positive reviews, the Editorial Board of Rowman & Littlefield has approved the manuscript and the contract has been signed for publication.
Ebone Smith, a graduate student with the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, recently published an op-ed in The Oklahoman about extreme heat waves in Oklahoma City. The column titled, “As we adapt to climate change, we must not forget to protect vulnerable communities in OKC,” was written as part of the Regional + City Planning course “Planning with Diverse Communities” taught by Dr. C. Aujean Lee.
The University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) was recently mentioned in an article in The Washington Post about Tullahassee, Oklahoma. The article, titled “A historic all-Black town wants reparations to rebuild as a ‘safe haven,’” explores the history of the historic Black town Tullahassee and their community’s journey to rebuild after years of decline due to government policies.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis sat down with Brent Wall, a landscape architecture alumnus and adjunct professor here at Gibbs! We sat down with Brent Wall to learn about his experiences as a landscape architect and how he got into the field. He is the Studio Director of the Landscape Architecture + Urban Design (LAUD) Studio, a full-service architecture practice in Oklahoma City.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, Regional + City Planning Professor, recently published an article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research on government-issued responses to anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Sarah Little, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, has recently been elected as the Vice President for Research and Creative Scholarship with the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).
Dr. Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional + City Planning, recently published an article titled, “Food Waste, Preference, and Cost: Perceived Barriers and Self-Reported Food Service Best Practices in Family Child Care Homes” in the journal Childhood Obesity. This publication is part of Dr. Lowery’s work with a team at the University of Oklahoma Health and Sciences Center.
From April 11 through April 15, 2022, the University of Oklahoma will present Muscogee (Creek) Tribal Town Futurity: Spatial Storytelling with Emergent Technologies.
Duy Nguyen, a Regional + City Planning student, recently published an op-ed in The Oklahoman titled “It takes a community to provide resources to homeless Oklahomans.” Written as part of Dr. C. Aujean Lee’s course “Planning with Diverse Communities,” the op-ed explores how different Oklahoma City institutions can help provide resources to the homeless.
Regional + City Planning students from “Community Development and Revitalization” with Dr. John Harris and “Planning with Diverse Communities” with Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently presented to the Tulsa Planning Office and Riverwood Neighborhood stakeholders about community engagement techniques.
Urban Design students, Roshita Taylor, Soujanya Malla, and Jeremy Banes, shared their designs for Sweeney Switch in downtown Harrah, Oklahoma during the town’s St. Patrick Day celebration.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis spoke with Vireak They, an environmental design alumnus here at Gibbs! We spoke with Vireak They to learn more about Osmosis Architects, his architecture firm in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Since 2019, the OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC), part of Gibbs College, has been helping to bring a very special event to Oklahoma City. All of this work is paying off, as the 2022 Congress on New Urbanism will take place in OKC from March 23-26, 2022.
Christopher Bodzioch, a Regional + City Planning student, recently published a column in The Oklahoman titled “For Oklahoma marijuana industry to keep growing, illegal activity must be stopped.” He wrote this piece as part of an assignment for the Regional + City Planning course “Planning with Diverse Communities” with Dr. C. Aujean Lee as well as the course “Herban Planning: Planning and Policies for Medical Marijuana” with Dr. Bryce Lowery.
Rebecca LaVictoire, a Regional + City Planning student, was recently awarded the 2021 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion scholarship from the Women and Planning Division of the American Planning Association.
Giselle Walker, an Architecture student, recently published a column in The Oklahoman about streetlights and public safety in Oklahoma City.
In 2020, a student team from the University of Oklahoma participated in the EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge. This competition is a green infrastructure design competition for American colleges and universities. It aims to engage with the next generation of environmental professionals, foster a dialogue about the need for innovative stormwater management techniques, and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure practices.
The Gibbs Design Activism Awards (GDAA) is a new grant initiative that supports student-led design and research projects that critically engage topics of community, social, and economic concern within the built environment—at Gibbs College, on the University of Oklahoma (OU) Campus, and across Oklahoma.
Regional and City Planning Student, Daniil Solovev was one of several members of the OU community who were recently interviewed by the OU Daily about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing crisis.
Ralph Ochsner earned his Bachelors in Sociology and Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of Oklahoma. He is also a member of the Board of Visitors for both the Regional and City Planning program and the College of Architecture. He is also a Charter Member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Communities are so much more than just places in which people live. The term “sense of place” is commonly used to describe the emotive bonds and attachments people develop or experience in particular locations and environments, or to describe the distinctiveness or unique character of localities and regions. This understanding inspires the origins of many community-based organizations seeking to help support communities with various needs. These organizations typically attract passionate go-getters who wish to help improve the spaces they and others like them came from. Count the Institute of Quality Communities at the Gibbs College of Architecture and its associate director, Vanessa Morrison, among those go-getters.
Michael Southard, a Regional + City Planning alumni and current member of the RCPL Professional Advisory Board, has just been inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)! Being elevated to the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows is the highest honor the AICP bestows upon a member.
Dr. Sarah Little’s Landscape Architecture studio is currently collaborating with students from the Rainbolt College of Education on the design of a nature-based playground for the new University of Oklahoma Institute of Childhood Development.
L. Quincy Jackson was the first African American architect to open an office in the state of Oklahoma. Born in Wewoka, Oklahoma in 1926, Jackson would earn his Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Kansas. He then opened an architecture office in Oklahoma in 1950. In 1952, he enrolled in the University of Oklahoma where he studied Urban Planning under Bruce Goff in order to earn his Master’s Degree in Planning in 1954.
Daniela Kosnacova, an Environmental Sustainability undergraduate student who is also pursuing an accelerated Master’s in Regional + City Planning, has been awarded the WTS Oklahoma Molitoris Leadership Scholarship.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is excited to announce our Spring 2022 Lecture Series! This lecture series was made possible with support from the Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture. Check back soon for updated information.
Regional + City Planning PhD student Pamela Skraastad-Jurney, GISP recently passed the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) exam. The AICP provides the only nationwide, independent verification of planners’ qualifications. This certification demonstrates expertise in the planning field and a commitment to professional ethics.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an associate professor with the Division of Regional + City Planning, is currently working with a team from the OU Health Sciences Center to develop research proposals concerning the future of public policy surrounding medical marijuana in the state of Oklahoma.
Taylor Johnson, a Regional + City Planning alumnus, was recently recognized by Mass Transit magazine as one of their 2021 40 Under 40!
Dr. Sarah Little, a faculty member in the Division of Landscape Architecture, recently published an article entitled “Considering Autonomous Exploration in Healthy Environments: Reflections from an Urban Wildscape” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an associate professor with the Regional + City Planning Division, recently delivered the keynote address at the annual meeting of the Tulsa Food Security Council.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis spoke with Matthew Crownover, a Landscape Architecture alumnus here at Gibbs! We sat down with Crownover to learn about how the use of technology and design methods have changed since he graduated.
Regional + City Planning professors Dr. C. Aujean Lee and Dr. John C. Harris, and graduate student Joseph Laws have published a report titled “A Local Nonprofit’s Role in Community Development,” which summarizes findings on a year-long research project to understand the opportunities and constraints of delivering community development services through a nonprofit.
It is with great sadness that we share news of the passing of Christopher C. Gibbs, OU Class of 1967. Mr. Gibbs was known for his success in the home construction and development industry, as well as his exceptional generosity to his beloved alma mater.
RCPL faculty member Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently gave a presentation titled “Moving from aspiration to action: Reorienting planners’ values towards equity diversity and inclusion” for the American Planning Association (APA) Urban Design and Preservation Division. The APA Urban Design and Preservation Division is a nationwide community of professionals dedicated to supporting educational and networking opportunities for planners, urban designers, preservationists, and allied professionals.
OU Gibbs College of Architecture alum David Hornbeek was recently awarded a Governor’s Arts Award for Community Service.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis spoke with Sonia Ramirez, an Environmental Design alumna here at Gibbs! We sat down with Ramirez to learn about how the use of technology and design methods have changed since she graduated. She graduated with her Bachelor of Environmental Design (2019) with a focus in Interior Design from the Gibbs College of Architecture.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee and Dr. John C. Harris, professors of Regional + City Planning, recently organized and moderated a roundtable at the 2021 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Conference. The roundtable, titled “Whiteness and Urban Planning: Uncovering what is Unspoken, Assumed, and Missing,” addressed whiteness and white supremacy in planning scholarship, teaching, and pedagogy.
On October 25, 2021, OU Regional and City Planning, the OU Center for Peace and Development, Security in Context and the OU Center for Social Justice hosted Dr. Miriam Solis of the University of Texas at Austin for the talk “Sewers & Social Justice: Racial Equity & Climate Change Implications of Wastewater Planning in the United States.”
Dr. Laura Harjo, associate professor of Native American Studies and an affiliate faculty member of Regional and City Planning, was recently elected as President of the Faculty Women’s Interest Group within the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
Dr. Keith Gaddie, Associate Dean of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma, has recently released a book titled The U.S. Supreme Court’s Democratic Spaces.
Camila Coronado, a Master of Urban Design student with the Gibbs College of Architecture, is collaborating with Kendall-Whittier Main Street, a Tulsa based non-profit, on a project to envision enhancements to Whittier Square, a historical district in Tulsa.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis (K) spoke with Shawn Schaefer (S), the director of the Urban Design Studio here at Gibbs! We sat down with Schaefer to learn about how the use of technology and design methods has evolved throughout his career.
In 2018, Urban Design students worked with Tulsa residents and community leaders to create a new vision for Tulsa’s B.S. Roberts Park. Their vision is now becoming a reality.
The University of Oklahoma Carceral Studies Consortium is pleased to host a special screening of Grey Matter: A Documentary Exploring Female Incarceration in Oklahoma, followed by a panel discussion and special reading of poetry and essays written by people incarcerated in Oklahoma.
OU now offers a Community Engagement Graduate Certificate for students across all campuses, designed to complement any graduate or professional degree, especially for those interested in community-focused work. The four-course program helps students build practical skills and apply them through hands-on partnerships to make a meaningful impact in their communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Dr. Laura Harjo, associate professor of Native American Studies and an affiliate faculty member in Gibbs’ Division of Regional + City Planning, as her book Spiral to the Stars: Mvskoke Tools of Futurity has been awarded the 2021 On the Brinck Book Award!
Ethan Mazzio, an OU Regional and City Planning student, delivered opening remarks at the debut of Food Odes, a temporary art installation highlighting food insecurity worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. His remarks emphasized the growing need in Oklahoma City and called on community leaders and residents to take structured, collective action to address food insecurity.
Dr. Bryce Lowery co-authored three studies examining how access to food and green space affects early child care settings in Oklahoma. The research found that these environments can help support children’s nutrition and activity, even in underserved areas.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis spoke with Ron Frantz the director of the Environmental Design program here at Gibbs! We sat down with Frantz to learn about how the use of technology and design methods have changed since he was an architecture student.
Nine Gibbs College faculty and staff were recently recognized during the awards segment of the Fall 2021 Back-to-School Meeting. Honorees were nominated by their colleagues in Gibbs College through an open nomination process.
Urban design studio students attended Harrah Days to engage with residents and introduce their downtown Harrah planning project. At their booth, students gathered community input on local strengths, needs, and ideas for future downtown development.
Join the Division of Regional and City Planning for their 2021 Planning Office tour on Friday, September 24th from 12-2pm. The tour will be on Zoom. Attendees will be able to chat with organizations involved in planning in Oklahoma, meet planning professionals, and learn about the diversity of planning and planning organizations.
Vernon Dee Martin was born in 1942 in Cushing, Oklahoma to John Vernon and Julia Anderson Martin. He peacefully passed away on June 12, 2021, in the company of his wife and children. He grew up in Chickasha, Oklahoma and would earn his Bachelors of Business from Oklahoma State University in 1965 and his Master of Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma in 1967. He would then go on to become one of the nation’s premier regional planners.
In 2020, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) reached out to the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) to ask for assistance with their Community Economic Resiliency Initiative (CERI). The Initiative was developed to help local governments respond to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Oklahoma communities were selected to receive urban planning services from the IQC. These services would emphasize community identity and placemaking.
In the spring of 2020, the town of Okemah, Oklahoma requested design assistance from the Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) through the Oklahoma Municipal League. In fall of 2020, twenty-five undergraduate students and nine graduate students enrolled in three sections of the OU College of Architecture’s Historic Preservation Planning course completed a downtown historic building survey for Okemah.
In the Fall of 2020, the Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) hosted their first Quality Communities Retreat, sponsored by Mayors’ Institute on City Design and Oklahoma Municipal League.
This past spring the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) worked with twenty-one students in the Environmental Design Practicum class in order to collaborate with community leaders of Tullahassee, Oklahoma and develop a plan for revitalization and growth.
This spring the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) held a community parks workshop for the communities of Hollis, Lone Wolf, and Stroud. All three communities had existing park space they sought to improve both through physical development as well as increased programming.
Kevin Hegerberg was recently hired by the City of Newcastle. His position will include working on planning and zoning review, plat and subdivision review, building permits, long-range and current planning, infrastructure improvement, and GIS analysis.
Regional + City Planning assistant professor C. Aujean Lee co-authored an article in Sustainable Cities and Society titled “Exploring the nexus between social vulnerability, built environment, and the prevalence of COVID-19: A case study of Chicago.”
Cameron Conyers is a 2019 graduate of the Regional and City Planning program here at Gibbs! Today, he works as an Associate Planner in the Current Planning and Urban Design Division in the City of Oklahoma City Planning Department. We talked to Cameron to learn about what he is up to after college and why he chose the field of planning.
Taylor Johnson is a 2017 graduate of the Regional and City Planning program here at Gibbs! Today, he is the Transit and Parking Program Manager for the City of Norman. We talked to Taylor to learn about what he is up to after college and why he chose the field of planning.
Cameron Brewer is a 2019 graduate of the Regional and City Planning program here at Gibbs! Today, he works in the field of community banking. We talked to Cameron to learn about what he is up to after college and why he chose the field of planning.
Dr. Aujean Lee, assistant professor of Regional and City Planning, is one of six authors involved in a recently published practitioner diversity climate survey project called “Survey Says: Planners Share Insights on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” Read more about the project and collaborators at the American Planning Association website.
Students from the Urban Design Studio teamed up with the Tulsa Young Professionals and the Tulsa Planning Office to facilitate a design workshop on July 23rd for high-school students participating in the Junior Real Estate Ambassadors Institute.
Two teams of five students from the Gibbs College of Architecture competed in the ULI Hines Student Urban Design and Development Competition this past January. The competition brings together groups of upper-level students from at least three different disciplines to challenge themselves in an exercise in responsible land use. Each team has two weeks to come up with a development plan for a real, large-scale North American city.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is hiring an Assistant to the Directors to support administrative, scheduling, records, and reporting needs across five divisions. The role requires strong organizational skills, Microsoft Office proficiency, and prior office management experience.
This position manages the daily operations, safety, and equipment of the Creating_Making and Digital_Making Labs while supporting faculty, students, and hands-on projects. The role also oversees training, student employees, and facility improvements to meet evolving academic needs.
Master of Urban Design student Sherry Marie Smith presented her Professional Project to the City of Coweta City Council on May 3, 2021. Her project proposed the planning and design of Cottonwood Park, a new municipal park featuring recreational amenities and potential grant-funded construction.
Students Devon Westbrook and Marshall Berry recently had op-eds published in the Daily Ardmoreite and Tulsa World. The students wrote about electric vehicles and issues around school choice.
On April 19, 2021, RCPL assistant professor C. Aujean Lee presented her research to the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Her presentation, entitled “A Racism Typology and Government Responses to Anti-Asian Discrimination and Incidents,” shared research findings on her study with John C. Arroyo (University of Oregon) about state and local government statements on anti-Asian hate crimes in early 2020.
Regional + City Planning Assistant Professor C. Aujean Lee was interviewed by an OU Daily journalist about anti-Asian American discrimination on campus.
This year, over 50 Sooners, family and friends were part of something BIG when they united for our fourth annual #OUGivingDay in support of Gibbs College on April 13, 2021. As a result, we raised over $17,000 for the Nick Harm Memorial Travel Study Scholarship.
Regional and City Planning graduate student Daisy Muñoz was recently honored with a University of Oklahoma “Voices of Inclusion” Advocacy Award. She received the award during a ceremony on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
Regional and City Planning graduate student Georgex Tafoya recently shared his favorite childhood memory of as part of the 2021 Latinx in Architecture San Francisco (LiASF) workshop, “Exploring our Latinidad,” led by James Rojas of Place It!
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is determined in its commitment to educate Gibbs College students through out-of-classroom learning experiences. This year, Gibbs College is dedicating Giving Day in memory of a very special advocate for travel study, the late Professor Nick Harm, who passed away in May 2020.
Assistant professor of Regional + City Planning C. Aujean Lee & RCPL affiliate faculty member Laura Harjo are guest editors for an upcoming special issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association entitled “Anti-Racist Futures: Disrupting Racist Planning Practices in Workplaces, Institutions, and Communities.”
With coauthors Dr. Nina M. Flores and Laureen D. Hom, Regional + City Planning assistant professor C. Aujean Lee published one of the first pieces in the field of planning on Asian Americans, their racialization, and lessons for planning. The article appears in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Mark and Ivy Pierce, alumni of the Gibbs College of Architecture, had their home featured in the March issue of 405 Magazine.
Assistant professor C. Aujean Lee was asked to meet with the West Virginia University Faculty Justice Network around efforts to strengthen cross-university solidarity.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities is launching a Community Engagement Fellowship in partnership with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments for the 2021–22 year. The program will select three fellows to lead community-based planning and placemaking projects, with staff and financial support.
Several Regional + City Planning students have secured new jobs and internships with organizations across central Oklahoma. RCPL graduates continue to demonstrate strong career outcomes, with over 90% achieving job placement within six months of graduation.
Gibbs College will host a virtual Brown Bag Seminar panel highlighting the experiences of immigrant architects working across the U.S. Panelists will discuss cultural and professional challenges, discrimination, firm leadership, and community involvement.
Spiral to the Stars by Laura Harjo won the 2020 Beatrice Medicine Award for Best Published Monograph, recognizing outstanding scholarship in Indigenous studies. Harjo, a Mvskoke scholar and OU faculty member, is honored for her work advancing Indigenous planning, community knowledge, and futurity.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to host Madison Swayne, former brownfields remediation consultant and Assistant Professor at San Diego State University, will describe the history and distribution of Brownfield sites in the United States. Swayne will also discuss best practices for the evaluation and cleanup of Brownfield sites along with opportunities for funding such actions.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to host R. Steven Lewis, FAIA, NOMAC, LEED AP, during the Spring 2021 semester to lecture and participate in a design studio. During his visit, he will offer an online lecture entitled “Architecture in the Age of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI).”
John C. Harris has been named director of the Regional and City Planning Division at the University of Oklahoma’s Gibbs College of Architecture, succeeding Charles “Charlie” Warnken. An award-winning scholar and community-engaged leader, Harris brings national recognition, global research experience, and a strong record of collaboration to guide the program’s next chapter.
Despite having to cancel the 2021 Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner due to the pandemic, Gibbs College is determined in its commitment to educating our students through out-of-classroom learning experiences. This year, we ask for your help in honoring a very special advocate for travel study, the late Professor Nick Harm, who passed away in May 2020.
Congratulations to OU alumnus Brian Phillips and American School architects Eddie Jones and Arthur Dyson for being elevated the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows in 2021. Phillips, Jones and Dyson have all previously served as Bruce Goff Chairs of Creative Architecture at the University of Oklahoma.
The Carceral Studies Consortium is pleased to announce recipients of its inaugural micro-grants.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to host Billy Fleming, Wilks Family Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. His lecture, entitled “Design and the Green New Deal,” will take place on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, via Zoom from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has named University of Oklahoma alumnus Henry Hepburn a Fellow in its 2021 class. This accomplishment recognizes the contributions of architects to their communities and the profession.
Are you an undergraduate student interested in learning more about Carceral Studies? Carceral Studies crosses disciplines and colleges at OU, so we’ve compiled a list of undergraduate courses related that have been recently offered at OU.
The Spring 2021 Latin American Architecture and Urban Development Systems seminar, under the direction of Herb Green Teaching Fellow René Peralta, invites the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture community to attend its series of distinguished guest lectures.
Five research teams at the University of Oklahoma will receive internal funding to support innovative research projects. The awards are for the OU Big Idea Challenge, an initiative launched by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships to support the development of transdisciplinary research projects with significant potential for future extramural funding and that address global grand challenges. Gibbs College of Architecture faculty are represented on two of the five research teams.
The Carceral Studies Consortium announces a $250 student work prize for Spring 2021. Students may submit an original essay or creative work created as part of any course in any discipline during the 2020-2021 academic year that deals with the topic of Carceral Studies, broadly conceived.
Building on the 2019 Urban Land Institute NE OKC Food Security Symposium, the “Food Security in NE OKC: Continuing the Conversation” event will reunite local and national experts in food systems and community development to discuss the changing nature of food security in Northeast Oklahoma City.
In June 2020, Gibbs College distributed a survey entitled “Taking Action to Create a More Equitable Community.” The summary findings from this survey were emailed to students on January 25th, and all students are invited to share their feedback during a Zoom Town Hall on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021, from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Associate professor of Regional + City Planning Dr. Bryce Lowery was recently interviewed by NonDoc about food security in northeast Oklahoma City.
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The OU Urban Design Studio community was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Katie Wing. A 2019 graduate, Katie’s optimism, determination, and joy were an inspiration to all who knew her. While at the Studio she fed her passions for community placemaking, environmental sustainability, and social justice.
Urban Design students Samiul Haque and Virginia Paiva recently completed a project for the college’s Community Health and Environmental Design Initiative. With the guidance of faculty members Michael Birkes and David Boeck, the students designed movable bathroom fixtures for the OU-Tulsa Occupational Therapy Simulation Lab.
GCA Communications intern, Haley Sandell (H) recently spoke with Jessica Langsdon (J), a Regional & City Planning (RCPL) graduate student! Jessica shares information about her journey to OU and the RCPL program with us and talks about her recent projects and accomplishments!
Shobha Pathmanathan, senior Environmental Design student, was recently selected as the Gibbs College of Architecture student representative for the December 2020 Convocation!
This year, the annual American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) national conference was held virtually, with the theme reVISION ASLA. University of Oklahoma Landscape Architecture alumnus Amanda Thomas was selected to present her topic entitled “Considering Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Playground Design” during a “Game Changer” session.
The University of Oklahoma is pleased to host “Understanding Inequity, Advancing Equity,” a free, two-day, virtual symposium from 3:30 – 6 p.m. CST Dec. 7 and 8. Registration is required.
Welcome to Carceral Studies Conversations, the University of Oklahoma Carceral Studies Consortium‘s podcast series. The Carceral Studies Consortium strives to build a community for intellectual exploration that includes faculty, staff, graduate students, community members, practitioners, and organizers.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell, sat down with Madison Hughes, a graduate Regional & City Planning student. Madison has a background in graphic design but a love and passion for growth and the difference she can make in the RCPL program at Gibbs!
Urban Design professional and Community Advisory Board Member Paul Dentiste recently celebrated his 90th birthday while visiting New York.
Vanessa Morrison has been named the Associate Director of the Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) at the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. Vanessa is an award-winning planner and community development professional who is dedicated to empowering her community.
The Center for Peace and Development at the University of Oklahoma has received a $175,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to support the center’s research mission and collaborative activities.
Although the University of Oklahoma Study Abroad Center in Rio de Janeiro has closed, its partnership with Associação Mais Vida continues through a public art initiative supporting prison reform dialogue. Funded by a U.S. Consulate seed grant, four murals across Rio highlight the struggles of people reentering society after incarceration.
University of Oklahoma Urban Design Studio students led a workshop to develop ideas for improving a courtyard at the historic Greenwood Center. They proposed new performance stages, shade structures, lighting, and interior connections and will present their concepts to community leaders on October 16, 2020.
Environmental Design students were featured in the Independent Shopkeepers Association of Oklahoma’s State of Retail 2020 report for their research on tenant mix trends in urban commercial districts. Their service-learning practicum work with local partners was compiled into a special report highlighting retail trends and opportunities for growth in Oklahoma communities.
Eric Sabin, an OU Landscape Architecture alumnus, recently played a large role in the design of Adventure Heights, a 10-acre, all-abilities park in the City of Spanish Fork, Utah.
During the Christopher C. Gibbs 2020 Scholarship Recognition Ceremony, held on Friday, September 25, 2020, more than 140 students from all seven disciplines were honored with $238,000 in scholarships made possible by generous donations from Gibbs College alumni, corporate donors, and others. The 2020 Scholarship Recognition Ceremony saw a record-breaking number of scholarships awarded by Gibbs College.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell, sat down with Regional & City Planning graduate student, Daisy Muñoz to discuss her journey and how it led her to Gibbs!
Lahari Peluri, an international student from India working on her master’s degree in Urban Design at OU-Tulsa, is currently interning at LandPlan Consultants. During her internship, she recently had the opportunity to participate in a parklet competition. We are proud to announce that she won first place!
Drs. K. Meghan Wieters and C. Aujean Lee, faculty in the University of Oklahoma Regional and City Planning Program, have been invited to serve as conference track chairs for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) annual conference, with the approval of the ACSP executive committee.
The University of Oklahoma’s Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture has hired three new faculty members following nationwide searches last year. Wenwen Cheng, Francesco Cianfarani, and Negar Matin will join the faculties of Landscape Architecture, Architecture, and Interior Design respectively as assistant professors during the Fall 2020 semester.
Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Little, assistant professor of landscape architecture, for her recent publication of “Engaging Youth in Placemaking: Modified Behavior Mapping,” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. This research was supported by a Gibbs College “Program for Research Enhancement” grant.
A Tactical Urbanism project near Gould Hall used painted stencils placed six feet apart to help encourage social distancing during COVID-19. Led by landscape architecture graduate student Alice Calmon, the effort involved collaboration among IQC staff, faculty, and students to design, cut, and install the markings.
Student, faculty and staff safety has been a hot topic of discussion and is of the utmost importance to the University of Oklahoma and the Gibbs College of Architecture. To help address these concerns, we recently spoke with Gibbs College program directors to find out what adjustments being made to their programs to ensure student, faculty and staff safety, while supporting learning outcomes. Here, Director of Landscape Architecture Leehu Loon shares responses to some frequently asked questions.
Student, faculty and staff safety has been a hot topic of discussion and is of the utmost importance to the University of Oklahoma and the Gibbs College of Architecture. To help address these concerns, we recently spoke with Gibbs College program directors to find out what adjustments being made to their programs to ensure student, faculty and staff safety, while supporting learning outcomes. Here, Director of Regional and City Planning Charles Warnken shares responses to some frequently asked questions.
The library located in Gould Hall, home to the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has been adding to its collection!
Gibbs College Regional and City Planning alumnae and affiliate faculty members Vanessa Morrison and Gina Sofola have been instrumental in creating the Oklahoma City chapter of BlackSpace, an organization committed to bringing Black voices and concerns into urban development and community planning. Both inspiring professionals were recently featured by Fast Company, a media outlet known for its focus on progressive business leaders and businesses that change the world.
We recently spoke with Environmental Design coordinator Ron Frantz to find out what adjustments being made to their programs to ensure student, faculty and staff safety, while supporting learning outcomes during Covid-19.
OU has been working diligently to ensure that returning students, faculty and staff return to a campus that is safer and better prepared to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to increased cleaning schedules, adding new and more robust cleaning agents and disinfectants and updated mask policies, Gibbs College has been working to improve air quality and clean the exchanged air within Gould Hall and make changes to schedules and classes to better accommodate student learning.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell, sat down with Kevin Mink, a Landscape Architecture graduate student. They discuss Kevin’s journey to OU, how he ended up in the Landscape Architecture program, and his amazing quarantine project!
GCA assistant to the directors Camille Germany sat down with Michael Southard, a Gibbs alumnus! Michael talked about his job and why he chose Regional +City Planning.
The University of Oklahoma Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) is offering their “Native 101” training session to Gibbs College of Architecture faculty and staff during the College’s Fall 2020 Back to School Meeting.
Students in the Regional and City Planning (RCPL) course entitled “Planning with Diverse Communities,” recently collected more than 800 signatures from people who pledged to fill out the 2020 Census. Due to COVID-19, individuals have until September 30, 2020 to fill out their Census and help to get an accurate count of Norman and the Oklahoma region.
Gibbs College faculty Deborah Richards, assistant professor of Architecture, and Vanessa Morrison, affiliate faculty in Regional and City Planning, have partnered with Dr. Andrea Benjamin from the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies to propose a think tank to address the implicit bias and racial inequality pervasive in classrooms.
Gibbs College of Architecture communications intern, Haley Sandell (H), sat down with Kimi Diedrich (K), graduate Regional & City Planning student, to talk about her journey to the RCPL program and her passion for planning, especially in marginalized communities.
Gibbs College of Architecture assistant professor Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently received a grant from the University of Oklahoma’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships (VPRP) to fund the project “Systemic Racial and Gender Disparities in the Academic Research Enterprise and Hiring Networks in an Applied Field: A Case Study of Urban Planning.”
Oklahoma City’s Scissortail Park recently won the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Texas & Louisiana‘s “Best Project” award in the Landscape/ Urban Development category. The park was designed by Hargreaves Associates in collaboration with Butzer Architects and Urbanism (BAU), which led design of the park’s buildings. Gibbs College Dean Hans E. Butzer and his wife, Torrey Butzer, are principals of BAU.
Building on the conversations about the future of design pedagogy that were started during the March 2020 “Schools of Thought” conference, the Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma is hosting a series of webinar conversations that explore how to adapt to our changing world, or better yet, how to rebuild it as a better world.
In Fall 2020, GCA assistant to the directors Camille Germany (C), sat down with Wenwen Cheng (W), a new Landscape Architecture professor at OU! Wenwen shared the current projects she is working on and her teaching strategies! Read on for highlights or click the link below to access the full podcast.
Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Sarah Little has co-edited The Routledge Handbook for Designing Public Spaces for Young People, a comprehensive resource on youth inclusion in public space design and policy. The handbook offers research and practical tools to help planners, designers, and advocates create more inclusive public environments for young people.
RCPL Assistant Professor C. Aujean Lee coauthored a study in the Journal of the American Planning Association examining the experiences of African American and Latinx planning students. Based on a national survey and interviews, the research identifies disparities in experiences of bias and offers recommendations to create more inclusive and supportive planning programs.
The Gibbs College of Architecture hosted a webinar exploring how the arts and humanities can shape public health responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists discussed how cultural forces influence behavior and how creative fields can translate scientific knowledge into meaningful social change.
The University of Oklahoma Carceral Studies Consortium Newsletter highlights research and engagement on punishment, surveillance, incarceration, and related systems. It invites faculty, students, community members, and practitioners to share feedback and contribute ideas.
University of Oklahoma Regional & City Planning assistant professor Dr. C. Aujean Lee partnered with Dr. John Arroyo to study how government COVID-19 messaging addressed race. Their research found that agencies largely ignored racial disparities or used color-blind language, highlighting the need for planning practices that openly address inequities to support more equitable cities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma hosted a summer webinar series expanding on its “Schools of Thought” conference to examine how design education can respond to protest and pandemic. The June 25, 2020 session, “Public Space in a Time of Protest & Pandemic,” featured practitioners and educators discussing public engagement, sustainable development, and the future of public space.
The OU Carceral Studies Consortium issued a statement condemning racial supremacy and honoring the legacy of Juneteenth while calling for continued action against systemic racism and state violence. The Consortium invites the community to join a reading group on race, policing, and activism to promote education, engagement, and collective learning.
Regional and City Planning professors C. Aujean Lee and John Harris received an OU Faculty Investment Program grant for a project titled “Outsourcing Community Development and Advocacy?: A Case Study of Neighborhood Alliance of Central Oklahoma.” The study examines how neighborhood planning led by a nonprofit rather than a city department may shape opportunities, constraints, and outcomes for resident empowerment.
The Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma hosted the “Schools of Thought” Summer Webinar Series to explore how design education can adapt during times of change. The series featured discussions on equity, public health, online teaching, and resilient buildings, with recordings and notes available for each session.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell sat down with graduate Urban Design student, Virginia Paiva to talk about being an international student at Gibbs!
Regional + City Planning Master’s student Daisy Munoz was appointed as Ward 6’s representative to the MAPS 4 Advisory Board by the City of Oklahoma City Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Members of the council will serve terms of up to 3 years.
Strategic visual communications intern, Haley Sandell (H), sat down with Jessi (J) and Marshall (M) Stringer, a sibling duo pursuing degrees at the Gibbs College of Architecture to talk about their experiences at Gibbs. Though they are studying in different programs, both students are graduating this semester! Read on for highlights, or click the link below to access the full podcast.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture celebrated its graduating seniors in a virtual convocation ceremony on Friday, May 8, 2020, at 7:00 pm. Read on for links to the ceremony video, convocation program, and highlights from the event.
The Urban Design Studio, the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Library, and the Tom Love Innovation Hub have been working together to produce protective face shields using the Studio’s prototyping technology.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell sat down with senior Geography and Regional & City Planning graduate student, Erin Stanley to talk about her experiences at Gibbs, juggling a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously, and what she is looking forward to in her final year of school!
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell sat down with Sephra Kolker, a recent graduate of the Gibbs College of Architecture Environmental Design program. Sephra shared her experiences as a student and representative in student government.
GCA communications intern Haley Sandell sat down with 3rd year Landscape Architecture graduate student Haley Powell to talk about her experience as a student here at Gibbs, her thesis project on food forests, and everything her senior year and graduation will bring.
Gibbs College is proud to introduce its new podcast, the Gibbs Spotlight, which features interviews with undergraduate and graduate students in its planning, design and construction programs. Check it out on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud and Spoti
The Urban Design Studio is proud to announce its first Urban Design Fellows. Made possible by the Christopher C. Gibbs Endowment for faculty support and development, each fellow will receive a $3,000 stipend to pursue their research.
On April 27th, students in the 3rd year design studio class led by René Peralta, Sara Fast and Zach Maggia presented their proposal for an Oklahoma City-based Hyperloop station and housing project to members of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, the Los Angeles firm that served as consultant and jury for the project.
Second year landscape architecture students recently advanced to the final round of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 Campus RainWorks Challenge. The students were under the direction of Dr. Pai Liu, with support from Gibbs College faculty and staff.
Associate professor of Regional and City Planning John Harris has been named co-editor of the new book series Borderless: Dedicated to Coalitional Politics, Interdisciplinarity, Community Building, Participatory Research, and Disruptive Thought.
Assistant professor of Regional and City Planning, C. Aujean Lee published an article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research on student experiences of climate and diversity.
Regional and City Planning graduate student Willis Washington recently published an op-ed about planning and accessibility in the City Sentinel.
Dr. John Arroyo recently visited the OU Division of Regional and City Planning, March 5-6, 2020, to meet with students and give a public talk about his work on Mexican immigrants, immigration policies in the South, and the resulting effects on informal community organizing and the built environment.
AIA Eastern Oklahoma President Darshan Patel, AIA, was recently featured in a Tulsa World editorial opposing Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again by forcing architects to use a classical style when designing public buildings.
Regional and City Planning faculty member John Harris spoke at Missouri State University’s Geography, Geology, and Planning Seminar Series about his work with Tribal communities in Oklahoma. His presentation highlighted the need for planning education to better prepare professionals for planning in Indigenous contexts.
Dr. John Arroyo (University of Oregon) is giving a public talk entitled “Shadow Suburbanism: Mexican Settlement, Immigration Enforcement, and Housing Form in the New South.” It will be held on March 5, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. in Gould Hall, rm. 354.
Over 90 people came to hear Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Aging in Place on Thursday, February 20th, at OU-Tulsa’s Founders Hall.
The OU Regional and City Planning (RCPL) program is hosting an open house for prospective students interested in the master’s program on February 28, 2020, from 12:30-2:30 pm in Gould Hall 345.
Shane Fernandez, Urban Design Studio class of 1998, has landed his dream job combining his passion for bicycle racing, his obsession with design, and his skill for organization.
TYPros, an organization that helps young professionals in Tulsa connect and find their place in the city, recently awarded their “Make Tulsa Awesome” grant to GCA Urban Design student Jamie Pierce and GCA Urban Design alumnae Kelly Cook and Paula Baeza.
From February 17 – 21, 2020, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is hosting an All-College Food Drive Competition to benefit the OU Food Pantry. Students, faculty and staff should drop off their non-perishable food donations in the Gould Hall Dean’s Suite (rm. 180) between February 17 – 21. Find the box with your team's name on it and place your donation inside before 5 p.m. on February 21st.
The University of Oklahoma Urban Design Studio will co-host an event titled “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Aging in Place” on February 20, 2020, from 5:30 – 8:40 p.m., at the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Learning Center (Founders Hall). Healthy snacks and light refreshments will be provided.
You are invited to join Regional and City Planning associate professor John Harris for a casual discussion about his collaborative research in Gulu, Uganda titled “Women Organizing for Peace.”
Renowned urbanist, demographer, and author, Richard Florida visited the OU Urban Design Studio on January 28, 2020. Professor Florida discussed his latest book, The New Urban Crisis, and took questions from urban design students about the future of small and mid-size cities like Tulsa.
Regional and City Planning alumnus Folasayo Salami was recently featured by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning as an “Active Alum.” In the profile, he discusses his work with the City of Edmond and reflects on how the University of Oklahoma’s Master of Regional and City Planning program prepared him for his career.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee and Andrew Greenlee examine how race, nativity, and neighborhood characteristics influence foreclosure risk in emerging immigrant gateway metropolitan areas. Their findings show that racial and immigrant concentration significantly shapes foreclosure outcomes, with Asian neighborhoods showing lower risk while Latino risk varies by nativity, income, and gateway context.
Gibbs College of Architecture student Anuhya Konda and 2013 Landscape Architecture alumnus Alex Tyler have been selected as finalists of the Million Dollar Pool Challenge! Konda, a graduate student studying Landscape Architecture, was the only student finalist, while Tyler was selected as the first place winner of the competition!
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an assistant professor in the division of Regional + City Planning, recently spoke at a symposium highlighting food security issues in northeast Oklahoma City. The Urban Land Institute of Oklahoma brought Oklahoma City residents, policymakers and experts together to “discuss potential ways to solve the food access crisis in northeast OKC,” according to an article that highlighted the symposium.
Urban Design Studio students presented data and findings from their Great Streets project for Maple Ridge during the neighborhood’s annual holiday party.
Professor Jay Chandler, J.D., an adjunct member of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Oklahoma‐Tulsa since 1990, is now celebrating retirement after teaching his last class on December 9, 2019, with students from the OU Urban Design Studio.
We recently caught up with Environmental Design (EnD) graduate Sam Crabtree to discuss how his time at the Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA) prepared him for his career. Sam is currently working for L5 Construction in Oklahoma City as a project manager. Read on to learn more about his role as a project manager and what he loves about his job.
The Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) has been working with Oklahoma City’s Capitol Hill commercial district, Calle Dos Cinco, to build a plaza for the community. This past summer, the IQC hosted a community workshop to hear from community members and create concepts for a plaza that would meet their wants and needs. After months of designing and planning, community volunteers worked with the IQC to construct a Pop-Up Plaza for community members to experience and evaluate before moving toward a permanent solution.
Environmental Design graduate Gabe Sevigny shares how his experience at the Gibbs College of Architecture prepared him for a career in planning. He discusses his role with El Paso County, daily responsibilities, and advice for students entering the field.
The Oklahoma Municipal League highlighted its partnership with OU’s Institute for Quality Communities and Interior Design program for supporting community-focused design projects. The feature showcases grant-funded initiatives and collaborative work on the Woodward Arts Theatre to enhance local spaces and preserve cultural assets.
Landscape Architecture alumna Kimberly White reflects on her transition from OU to her role as a Design Associate at LAUD Studio. She highlights the value of networking, hands-on experiences, and the program’s rigorous curriculum in preparing students for their careers.
The Environmental Design (EnD) program at Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA) provides students with many opportunities to network with EnD professionals and community leaders through various field trips and conferences. Recently, students in Intro to Urban Development, Intro to Landscape Architecture, and Historic Preservation Planning had the chance to visit three sites in Oklahoma City to learn more about various aspects of environmental design work.
GCA Communications Intern Bri (B) recently talked with 2014 Master's of Urban Design graduate, Rebecca Blaine, AICP, CFM (R), who now holds a position as a planning director for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. Thanks so much to Rebecca for sharing her experience at Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA) and more!
Join a panel discussion on food security at Metro Tech Auditorium in northeast Oklahoma City on December 11. The free event features local and national experts and is supported by Gibbs College as a community partner.
Gibbs College will host its annual Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner on February 7, 2020, at the Petroleum Club in Oklahoma City. Proceeds from the ticketed event support student travel study scholarships and opportunities.
John Harris received the GPEIG Best Journal Article Award at the 2019 ACSP conference for his research on informal settlements in Lusaka, Zambia. The award recognizes impactful and innovative scholarship addressing global planning and development issues.
Henry Truong recently won the Student Planning Association’s T-shirt and logo design competition. Learn more about student organizations at the University of Oklahoma.
We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. John F. Crowley III about his story and why he gives to the Gibbs College of Architecture. Dr. Crowley, a graduate of OU’s Master of Regional and City Planning Program, is a professor in the College of Environment and Design at the University of Georgia.
The Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA) recently got another look at Master of Fine Arts student Daniel Giles Helm’s “Building and Training” exhibit, which was featured in the Architecture Library this past April. While most of Helm’s work utilizes humor, “Building and Training” deviates from that common communicative element to further explore the interaction between technology, data, and humans.
Join us on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 from 5-7 p.m. in the Gould Hall Gallery to hear from 2019 Rome program students as they share work they completed abroad.
The Environmental Design program at OU’s Gibbs College of Architecture emphasizes hands-on, service-learning experiences that prepare students to improve real communities. Through community projects, internships, and award-winning work, students gain practical skills and professional connections while addressing meaningful design challenges.
OU’s Landscape Architecture program prepares students to design and manage outdoor spaces through a curriculum focused on environmental responsibility, creativity, and real-world experience. Students gain recognition through awards, internships, and community-based projects while developing skills for impactful careers in design and planning.
Second year Master of Landscape Architecture students in Dr. Pai Liu’s class recently toured the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Scissortail Park with Gibbs College dean and professor of architecture Hans E. Butzer.
Professor Sabina Vaught, principal co-chair of the Carceral Studies Consortium hosted by Gibbs College, is leading a Feminist Studies Reading Group for 15 incarcerated teenaged girls this fall.
Drawing on a survey of over 4,000 professional practice organizations, DesignIntelligence (DI) has named two University of Oklahoma design programs in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, interior design and landscape architecture, among the “Most Hired From” in 2019. DesignIntelligence has also listed Gibbs College dean Hans E. Butzer among the most admired design educators in the country for the second time.
Assistant professor C. Aujean Lee published research in the Journal of Urban Affairs on neighborhood choices among middle-class Latino and Asian homeowners in Los Angeles. The study highlights how socialization and racial perceptions influence where people choose to live.
Gibbs College of Architecture is seeking applicants for three faculty positions across Architecture, Interior Design, and Landscape Architecture at multiple ranks. The roles emphasize collaborative research, social equity, and resilience, reflecting the college’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and impactful design education.
Regional and City Planning Assistant Professor C. Aujean Lee co-published an article entitled “Let’s Get Along: Strengthening Academic-Nonprofit Partnerships in Research” in AAPI Nexus Journal
Join the OU Center for Peace and Development for reflections on service learning in Uganda during the winter of 2018 and summer of 2019!
We recently learned about master of landscape architecture student Niloufar Soltanimofrad’s award-winning graduate research project! Read on for more about her work on “el-spaces.”
Dr. Sarah Little’s co-authored article has been accepted for publication in the Landscape Research Record, the academic journal of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.
Regional + City Planning Assistant Professor Bryce Lowery recently authored the article “Outdoor Advertising: Landmark of the Experience Economy,” published in The Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding. It traces the history of outdoor advertising as part of the American Landscape, a landmark of entertainment centers epitomized by the bright lights of Times Square.
Now, after years of saving and planning, Oklahoma City has officially opened the park in downtown! In fact, more than 28,000 people turned out to the grand opening of Scissortail Park on Friday, September 27, 2019.
Did you know that the Gibbs College of Architecture is home to a team of interns that supports college storytelling through our newsletters, YouTube videos, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, alumni outreach and more? This amazing group makes sure that faculty, students, alumni and friends of Gibbs College always know what’s happening.
Students from the OU Society of Urban Design took over a parking space on a rainy Parking Day in Downtown Tulsa.
We recently caught up with 2018 Master’s of Landscape Architecture (MLA) graduate Subhashini Gamagedara! She told us about what she’s been doing since graduation, recent projects, and more.
Each academic year, the OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) provides the opportunity for GCA students to help enhance the quality of life in neighborhoods, towns, and cities as part of their classroom experience. This year, the IQC will also employ three graduate student assistants, Alice Calmon, Taylor Huizenga, and Matthew Kessler, to support this work.
The Gibbs College of Architecture recently welcomed visiting lecturer Dr. Pai Liu to its Division of Landscape Architecture. Previous to her appointment at OU, Dr. Liu obtained her PhD in Planning, Design, and the Built Environment from Clemson University, and practiced landscape architecture in Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Liu is teaching graduate-level environmental design studios and landscape architecture history and theory during her time at OU.
To help diversify the field of planning, the Division of Regional + City Planning (RCPL) has adopted a plan to recruit underrepresented students. Part of these efforts include helping students to gain more experience about what it is like to work with diversifying cities and neighborhoods. On September 13, 2019, RCPL students visited four planning-related organizations to engage with these issues.
Attend a special event exploring the renovation of the historic Tulsa Club building led by the Ross Group. Speakers will discuss the project and Bruce Goff’s architectural legacy in Tulsa.
The Urban Design Studio (UDS) recently hosted a team from Cyntergy, led by 2008 UDS alumnus Craig Longacre, to help build a 3D model of a home for severely injured veterans.
OU academic advisor Dave Kyncl and his wife, Rhonda Kyncl, are serving as Faculty-in-Residence at Headington Hall. The program supports student belonging and success through mentorship, programming, and community engagement.
Master of Urban Design students toured Tulsa’s Gathering Place to begin their Great Streets project in the Maple Ridge neighborhood. They will analyze streets and collaborate with residents to improve walkability, calm traffic, and identify placemaking opportunities.
Regional and City Planning associate professor John Harris and collaborators published research in Gender and Development on formerly abducted women in northern Uganda. The article highlights their experiences and examines how they are working to rebuild their lives and reassert their humanity.
Bryce Lowery and Lisa Schweitzer coauthored “Justice and Urban Design,” published in The New Companion to Urban Design. The article examines the relationship between social justice and the built environment and highlights a shift toward community-driven design practices.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion has announced the Fall 2019 Diversity Ally workshops for OU faculty and staff, focused on building awareness and promoting inclusion. Participants can complete the Unlearning series in any order and earn a Diversity Ally certificate by attending all four workshops.
OU Regional and City Planning researchers published reflections on the Women of Northeastern Oklahoma City Photovoice Project in Gender, Place and Culture. The article examines Black feminist perspectives on safety and highlights the need for collective, community-driven approaches to urban policy.
Assistant professor C. Aujean Lee presented and published research on engaging non-citizens at a 2019 international planning conference. Her work examines barriers faced by immigrant communities and offers insights for improving inclusive planning and participation.
The Urban Design Studio and the Institute for Quality Communities teamed up this summer to work on a grant from the City of Muskogee to characterize their housing markets in the Muskogee Comprehensive Housing Analysis.
In June 2019, GCA Associate Professor of Regional + City Planning John Harris traveled to Uganda with students and faculty from across the University of Oklahoma as part of the OU Center for Peace and Development’s ongoing work in the region.
Landscape Architecture graduate student Alice Calmon is gaining hands-on experience through an internship with EDSA in Florida. Her work spans multiple project phases while strengthening her technical skills, creativity, and professional development.
Jessica Brent is a 2011 graduate of the Urban Design Studio (UDS) master’s degree program at OU-Tulsa. Today, she is co-owner of Homma Camp Company, a luxury camping service for those who may not have the time, expertise, or equipment. She received her bachelor's in philosophy with a minor in Women’s Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma before joining the Urban Design graduate program. We talked to her about her entrepreneurial accomplishments, education, and more about what it’s like managing her own company.
Sonia Ramirez is a 5th year student studying Environmental Design, with minors in Interior Design, Spanish, and French! She is working for ADG, a well known design firm located in the heart of Oklahoma City.
Graduate Landscape Architecture student, Haley Powell, is spending her summer getting some valuable experience as an intern at The Broussard Group (TBG) in Dallas. At TBG, she is completing a multitude of tasks including drafting in CAD (computer aided design), designing paving patterns, developing sheet sets for a submittal, and many other things to help a client understand the concepts of a design.
The University of Oklahoma (OU) Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture will host “Schools of Thought: Rethinking Architectural Pedagogy,” from March 5-7 2020, at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art on the University of Oklahoma Campus in Norman, Oklahoma.
Graduate Landscape Architecture student, Yashaswini R, Dasarapalli, is spending her summer getting valuable experience as an intern at GH2 Architects, LLC, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While working as a Landscape Architecture Intern, Dasarapalli had the opportunity to visit different sites designed by GH2, attend meetings with people from other disciplines, and learn about technical aspects of design and implementation in a professional setting.
Jessica Brent, a graduate of the Urban Design Studio at OU-Tulsa, was recently featured in an article in Tulsa World. Brent is the co-owner of Homma Camp Company, a luxury camping service for those who may not have the time, expertise, or equipment.
University of Oklahoma Regional + City Planning Alumna Gina Sofola, who heads her own project management consulting firm in Oklahoma City, sought out RCPL to expand her reach and abilities. “I found that I needed another addition to my education and to my skillset,” says Sofola.
As part of an eight-day immersive program, 13 students from Interior Design, Architecture, Environmental Design, and Regional and City Planning divisions traveled to The School of Architecture at Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona, in June.
The Institute for Quality Communities is partnering with Oklahoma City’s Capitol Hill community to plan a public plaza through workshops that gather local input. A temporary pop-up plaza will be built to test ideas before a final report guides the development of a permanent space.
The Osage Forest of Peace Board adopted a new campus expansion plan developed by students and faculty from the Gibbs College of Architecture. The multidisciplinary project will guide future growth of the spiritual retreat center in Sand Springs, Oklahoma.
Several Gibbs College of Architecture programs received STEM-designated CIP codes, allowing international students to qualify for a 24-month OPT extension after graduation. This change enables eligible students to work in the U.S. for up to three years while maintaining F-1 visa status.
Students in the Urban Design Studio program at OU-Tulsa are working to improve B.S. Roberts Park in Tulsa after years of neglect and harm.
Landscape architecture graduate student Alice Calmon won Best Student Portfolio at the OU Creaties Awards for her visually strong website design. Her site showcases her work through detailed images and project blog posts.
The OU-Tulsa Urban Design Studio partnered with Tulsa International Mayfest to create programs and events that will draw visitors to H.A. Chapman Centennial Green park in downtown Tulsa.
For our final alumni highlight of the semester, we are talking to Environmental Design alumni and the current Director of Research Initiatives and Strategic Planning for the Gibbs College of Architecture, Dr. Angela M. Person!
Landscape Architecture alumnus Alex Tyler was accepted into the Tulsa Remote program, which selected 100 participants from over 10,000 applicants and provides $10,000 to work remotely in Tulsa for one year. He plans to use the award to open an Oklahoma office of Alchemy Exteriors while continuing his Dallas office, operating the new location out of a renovated 1973 Airstream.
Landscape Architecture professor Tom Woodfin, alumnus Rachel Ware, and Oklahoma Water Survey Director Jason Vogel presented “North of the Red River: GSI in Oklahoma” at the Texas ASLA Conference. They discussed green stormwater infrastructure in Oklahoma, including its teaching, research, advocacy, and the political, environmental, and professional challenges of implementing best practices in the region.
On May 4, 2019, Regional and City Planning faculty and students visited Citizen Potawatomi Nation (CPN) with Dr. Jim Collard, Regional and City Planning Professor of Practice and Director of Planning and Economic Development for CPN.
The OU-Tulsa Urban Design Studio celebrated 30 years of educating students and engaging communities through interdisciplinary urban design projects. Since 1988, the program has brought together students from multiple fields to address urban issues and partner with the Tulsa community on projects such as public art installations and neighborhood improvements.
Invisible Eve by Yousef Khanfar was exhibited in the Gould Hall lobby, featuring photographs of women incarcerated in Oklahoma to raise awareness of the state’s high female incarceration rate. The images include personal details and sometimes family members to humanize the subjects and encourage public discussion and change, and the exhibition was hosted by the Women and Gender Studies Center for Social Justice with additional campus co-sponsors.
As part of our efforts to highlight and learn more about the amazing work our alumni are doing, this week we talked to Urban Design Studio alumnus Weldon Bowman! Weldon graduated from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture in 2001 with a degree in Architecture and then went on to earn his masters from the OU Urban Design Studio in 2003. He now owns his own firm, W Design, which was recently awarded AIA Eastern Oklahoma Firm of the Year. We picked his brain to learn more about his experience as a GCA student and what he has been up to since graduating.
The Student Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects (SCASLA) recently hosted several workshops for its members and for students from across the college. The workshops invited professionals to share their skills with students throughout the Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA).
Students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture’s (GCA) Architecture, Construction Science, Environmental Design, and Interior Design undergraduate programs were recently recognized for having the highest overall GPAs among their graduating classes. GCA Dean Hans E. Butzer was on hand to present them with their awards during the OU Campus Awards Program.
The University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Urban Design Studio program has again collaborated on a public art project for Tulsa’s Chapman Green.
Landscape Architecture graduate students and faculty recently toured Scissortail Park to see its current construction.
Planning, Design, and Construction PhD student Sara Fast is helping to integrate evidence-based design into undergraduate and graduate Architecture studio classes. “[Evidenced-based design] has often been undervalued or misunderstood both within architecture programs and outside of them,” says Fast.
Student researchers from Dr. Angela Person and Dr. Randy Peppler‘s Environmental Sustainability Working Group’s 2017 and 2018 cohorts were recently honored with significant environmental and research awards.
Eric Sabin, a Master of Landscape Architecture graduate of 2018, has quickly found his place in the profession. Upon graduation, he began working at In-Site Design Group in American Fork, Utah, where he works on a variety of projects that allow him to utilize many of the skills learned while attending the University of Oklahoma.
Students, staff, and faculty are invited to join the Division of Regional and City Planning on a visit to Citizen Potawatomi Nation with Faculty of Practice, Jim Collard, and Assistant Professor, C. Aujean Lee.
On Saturday, April 27th, students pursuing the Master of Urban Design degree at OU-Tulsa will be presenting their capstone projects. Each student was encouraged to pursue an original design or research projects that benefits Tulsa and Oklahoma.
EarthMonth@OU is OU’s annual celebration of Earth Month. It consists of a series of campus and public events focused on local and global environmental concerns sponsored by members of the University of Oklahoma’s Environmental Portfolio and others. This year, EarthMonth@OU will host a series of lectures featuring experts from around the country, including talks that address the history of environmental movements, approaches to Superfund sites, and the intersections of Christianity, climate and culture.
Architecture graduate students enrolled in ARCH 5543, “Research and Critical Writing,” Elaheh Houshmand and Sean Harrell have collaborated to edit the latest issue of _543: The OU Architectural Theory and Criticism Journal.
Regional and City Planning graduate student Vivek Vijay volunteered with Blackspace Oklahoma during its “Storytelling Project” series, assisting with setup, photography, and digital content while engaging with community narratives. He reflected on the importance of amplifying overlooked voices and recognized how city planning and design connect to community history and empowerment.
This semester, we are highlighting alumni from each of our seven disciplines. This week, we talked to Rachel Gaffney! Rachel graduated from the Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA) in 2018 with a master’s degree in Regional and City Planning. She is currently enrolled in the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Candidate Pilot Program, as she passed the AICP exam in November of 2018. We asked Rachel a few questions about her experience at OU and her best advice for the AICP exam!
Drs. C. Aujean Lee (GCA’s Division of Regional and City Planning) and Gabriela Rios (English) were awarded the Spring 2019 Inclusive Excellence Award from the OU Office of University Community for their class project, (Re)Mapping Norman.
The OU Environmental Design program regularly collaborates with the OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) to help students engage with local cities across the state of Oklahoma. This year, the program has incorporated three different projects into its course offerings.
On Thurs., April 4, associate professor of architecture Dave Boeck will present “Where are Design and Construction Industries Going? Collaboration is the future” during the Construction Specification Institute’s 2019 South Central Region Conference in Oklahoma City.
“Invisible Eve,” a photo exhibition by Yousef Khanfar, is on display in the main lobby through March 19 and features women incarcerated in Oklahoma. The exhibit is hosted by the Women’s and Gender Studies Center for Social Justice with co-sponsorship from Gibbs College of Architecture, the OU Department of Sociology, and the Knee Center for Strong Families.
OU faculty and students traveled to northern Uganda to continue collaboration with local peacebuilding organizations through the OU Center for Peace and Development. They engaged over 100 participants to document goals, challenges, and personal stories, with plans for future fieldwork and a 2019 Peacebuilding Conference supporting grassroots-led development efforts.
Gibbs College highlights the women leading in planning, design, and construction across the field. Over 100 stories showcase their professional impact and contributions to the discipline.
Assistant professor C. Aujean Lee published an article in Public Health Post titled “Investing in Non-White Spaces,” summarizing research on middle-class ethnic neighborhoods and their role in supporting homeownership. Her work examines residential segregation, racial disparities in wealth and homeownership, and the role of nonprofits in providing support to vulnerable communities.
GCA’s 2019 Career Fair brought together over 30 firms from across the country to recruit students and connect with alumni and current students. Employers emphasized mentorship and opportunities in architecture and design.
Faculty, alumni, and GCA students worked in Lusaka, Zambia from 2014–2017 to design and evaluate architectural and planning projects. The collaboration was nominated for EDRA’s 2019 “Great Places Award,” which recognizes work that integrates design, research, and practice to create impactful places, with winners announced at EDRA50 in May 2019.
Assistant professors Sarah Little and John Harris published a peer-reviewed article in Urban Forum analyzing youth-drawn maps from informal settlements in Lusaka, Zambia. The study examines how vulnerable youth locate hope and despair in their environments and offers insights for urban managers to better support community needs and aspirations.
The OU Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities hosts a biennial Placemaking Conference focused on topics like city planning, economic development, public space, and design. The 2019 event features national and local speakers sharing insights on placemaking, revitalization, and community development in Norman, Oklahoma.
Regional + City Planning student Jake Landry published an op-ed in Tulsa World discussing walkability and public safety in downtown Tulsa. The piece was written as part of the RCPL 5970 “Planning with Diverse Communities” course taught by assistant professor C. Aujean Lee.
An OU GCA alumnus, Fred Schmidt, FAIA, will lead a “drawing on location” rendering class hosted by the Firehouse Art Center in Norman. The session will run Saturday, May 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with registration available through the Firehouse Art Center website.
Instructor Warren Ross recently led OU-Tulsa students from his Entrepreneurial Architecture and Leaders class on a tour of Bruce Goff’s Tulsa Club during its renovations. Ross Group is leading a $30 million dollar rehabilitation of the historic building in Downtown Tulsa. The Club is expected to re-open this spring.
GCA administrator Stephanie Soash recently earned her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification. The certification recognizes skills in process improvement, leadership, and data-driven decision-making to achieve measurable organizational results.
Regional + City Planning professor Dr. John Harris had his article featured on the cover of the Journal of Planning Education and Research. The study uses photovoice methods in Lusaka, Zambia to capture vulnerable youth perspectives and inform more inclusive urban planning.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to share the 2018 issue of Design Sooner, highlighting community engagement efforts from the past year.
Ed Sharrer, a GCA Urban Design graduate program alumnus, was recently named the manager of Tulsa’s Destination Districts program.
Urban Design Studio alumnus Weldon Bowman’s firm, W Design, was named Firm of the Year at the AIA Eastern Oklahoma Chapter Awards.
Master of Urban Design students from the Urban Design Studio hosted a community design workshop for Tulsa’s B.S. Roberts Park.
Regional + City Planning Assistant Professor C. Aujean Lee has published two articles with a team that investigated urban planning student climate and diversity issues.
The Institute for Quality Communities has partnered with the city of Waurika, Oklahoma, to offer planning assistance, with the support of the Oklahoma Municipal League. Over 30 GCA students have been working with the city to solve problems such as walkability, accessibility, parks, empty buildings, and run-down side streets.
Last week, 85 planners, real estate professionals, and civic leaders attended the Changing Nature of Suburbs conference, sponsored by the Tulsa chapter of the Urban Land Institute and the OU Society of Urban Design Students.
Landscape Architecture alumnus Alex Tyler recently placed second out of hundreds of industry professionals in the International Pool and Spa Show’s “Million Dollar Pool Design Challenge.”
A team of students and faculty from the OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture are using photovoice and focus groups to design more effective spaces.
Gibbs College of Architecture faculty received internal funding to advance research in housing, landscape design, and construction safety. Their projects explore minority homeownership patterns, adaptable nature playground management, and improved safety training through audiovisual tools.
OU Urban Design Studio alumna Paulina Baeza received TYPros’ Boomtown Urban Advocate Award for her work supporting Tulsa’s urban revitalization efforts. Her transportation planning and community-focused research have contributed to more connected, walkable, and inclusive neighborhoods, especially in east Tulsa.
Recently, two proposals by Urban Design Studio (UDS) alumni were funded by the TYPros Foundation. The Tulsa Young Professionals (TYPros) Foundation aims to provide “strategic funding to projects that engage young Tulsans in placemaking, innovation and community engagement.”
OU Master of Landscape Architecture student Sridhar Yalamanchili was recently named the student winner of the 2018 “Million-Dollar Pool Design Challenge,” sponsored by the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals.
Congratulations to the OU faculty and alumna recently selected to receive American Institute of Architects (AIA) Oklahoma Honor Awards! The awards will be formally presented at the 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture on Nov. 9.
Alumna Marcae’ Hilton is the Planning Director for the City of Bixby and helped plan and implement the Charley Young Park which was recently recognized during the 2018 Planning Awards Program for the American Planning Association Oklahoma Chapter awards.
The Historic Preservation Planning course, which includes students from almost every College of Architecture division, loaded a bus on a Saturday and traveled to document historic buildings in Waurika, Oklahoma during the community’s annual Brick Street Classic Car Show.
The Institute for Quality Communities has continued an outreach partnership with the Oklahoma Municipal League for a second year.
Drawing on a survey of over 6,000 hiring professionals, Design Intelligence has named two University of Oklahoma design programs in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, architecture and landscape architecture, among the “Most Hired From” in 2018.
Weldon Bowman, founder of W Design and OU M.Arch alumnus of the Tulsa Urban Design Studio, was named the Tulsa Regional Chamber Small-Business Person of the Year at the Tulsa Small Business Summit and Awards. The recognition highlights the impact of small businesses in the region, with additional event details provided by the Tulsa Regional Chamber and related coverage from Tulsa World.
Rebecca Blaine is the Planning Director for the City of Guthrie and a graduate of the OU Urban Design Studio. Blaine was present in Washington D.C. to accept the American Planning Association’s Great Neighborhood award on behalf of the City of Guthrie.
Landscape Architecture student Subhashini Gamegedara and recent graduate Rachel Ware received Merit Awards from the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architecture (OKASLA) for their respective projects. Gamegedara was recognized in Communications for “Wholistic Compassion,” while Ware earned the Planning and Analysis award for her “Brock Creek Corridor” project, which proposed green infrastructure strategies to improve watershed health along tributaries of the Oklahoma River.
Landscape Architecture student Haley Powell interned at Page Duke Landscape Architects during summer 2018, where she gained experience working on multiple simultaneous projects and developed stronger time management and design skills. She noted key differences between studio and professional practice, including longer project timelines, more client meetings, and a greater emphasis on detailed, collaborative design work that informed her career goals.
Landscape Architecture alumnus Brent Wall received the Oklahoma ASLA Honor Award for his work on Oklahoma City’s Military Park in the LAUD Studio. The project transformed an underused green space in the Asian District into a flexible public park featuring cultural programming areas, ecological stormwater systems, and minimal-intervention design that supports both daily use and community events.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture hosted the Neuroscience, Beauty and Design Symposium on October 1, 2018, bringing together scholars and practitioners to explore connections between architectural history, geometry, proportion, neuroscience, and well-being. The event featured lectures on topics ranging from early modern architectural theory to neuroaesthetics and discussed how proportion and design may influence human perception and wellness.
Students from the OU Gibbs College of Architecture participated in a design charrette at the Oklahoma Brownfields Conference, coordinated by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. Led by Jim Rojas alongside local professionals, students collaborated on design proposals for three Sapulpa sites through the Sapulpa Main Street Program, with faculty support from landscape architecture and architecture and environmental design.
Urban Design student Katie Wing interned with the Transportation Division of the Indian National Council of Governments during summer 2018, gaining experience across a wide range of transportation and urban design projects. She noted that her OU education prepared her through foundational urban design principles focused on community engagement and research, and the internship strengthened her interest in building healthy communities through transportation planning.
Sarah Gould, owner of KKT Architects and an OU Urban Design Studio alumna, was interviewed in the Tulsa World about her firm’s design for the new Tulsa Children’s Museum Discovery Lab. The 50,000-square-foot facility is described as a dynamic, immersive learning space that encourages children’s problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity through hands-on experiences.
Regional and City Planning assistant professor Dr. Bryce Lowery was featured on the University of Oklahoma podcast Just Sow in an episode titled “The Future of Food,” where he discussed food insecurity and access to healthy food options. The conversation explored challenges such as the lack of supermarkets in underserved communities and potential solutions ranging from community gardens to urban agriculture and vertical farming.
As a graduate student in the Regional + City Planning program, Vanessa Morrison explored the personal and community significance of barbershops and investigated the feasibility of creating a mobile barbershop in the Oklahoma City region.
Over 40 students from the Gibbs College of Architecture helped develop a master plan to revitalize downtown Muskogee. The City of Muskogee formally adopted the plan in July 2018 and has already begun implementing changes. Read more about the project on the University of Oklahoma website!
Tulsa’s Kendall-Whittier neighborhood has been named a semifinalist for the Great American Main Street Award. The award recognizes Main Street programs that use historic preservation to drive commercial revitalization.
The Frank House, designed by Bruce Goff in 1955 for Frankoma Pottery founders, is a National Register-listed Oklahoma landmark that incorporates hand-glazed materials produced by the Frank family. In a preservation-focused academic project, students from architecture, environmental design, and regional and city planning developed a detailed report addressing conservation issues related to the building’s interior, exterior, and landscape conditions.
Originally constructed in 1910 and expanded in 1937, the Altus City Reservoir historically served as the city’s drinking water supply and is now being considered for restoration and surrounding park development on adjacent land. Environmental Design Capstone students studied the site and regional precedents to produce design recommendations that respond to local materials, views, and recreational goals as part of ongoing city planning efforts.
Assistant Professor Dr. Aujean Lee’s article “Heterogeneity in Income: Effects of Racial Concentration on Foreclosures in Los Angeles” was published in the journal Housing Policy Debate. The work examines how racial concentration and income heterogeneity are related to foreclosure outcomes in Los Angeles.
Gibbs College of Architecture staff member Jerry Puckett and Professor Tom Woodfin were interviewed in the Norman Transcript about their advocacy for cycling safety in the Norman area. Puckett also organizes the annual Norman Conquest Ride, which raises funds for Camp ClapHans, a residential summer camp for children with special needs.
GCA welcomes new assistant professor of Regional and City Planning Aujean Lee, who earned her PhD from UCLA and researches residential segregation, racial disparities in homeownership, wealth, and nonprofit roles in supporting vulnerable communities. Her work has been widely published and supported by major fellowships and awards, and she plans to expand her research to comparative studies of foreclosure patterns across U.S. metropolitan regions and nonprofit policy impacts in the Midwest.
Erin Tyler was named the Gibbs College of Architecture’s 2018 Outstanding Staff Member in recognition of her dedicated service and collegiality. She is a senior academic counselor who supports students in achieving their graduation and life goals while emphasizing communication, teamwork, and a positive campus environment.
In June, Dr. John Harris and students of Regional + City Planning traveled to northern Uganda with the OU Center for Peace and Development (CPD) this past month to aid in the organization of a women’s grassroots peacebuilding conference in Gulu. The conference brought together 78 women from all five sub-regions of Northern region, Uganda to discuss ongoing sources of conflict in their communities and their priorities for action.
The Southern Plains Transportation Center (SPTC) at the University of Oklahoma hosts the Langston University Transportation Academy (LUTA) annually.
Landscape Architecture professor Tom Woodfin led a group of students on a travel study experience through Italy for his Garden History course this summer.
Students from Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design participated in an intensive studio-in-residence at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. Prof. Mia Kile and Dr. Natalie Ellis co-taught the program, which emphasized the exploration of biophilic patterns that make Fallingwater successful.
The Environmental Design Research Association’s 49th annual conference was held in Oklahoma City this summer. The Gibbs College of Architecture’s own Associate Professor Dave Boeck co-organized this massive effort, which brought more than 350 researchers and practitioners from over 20 countries together to discuss issues of social equity.
James Healy, AIA, has been promoted to senior associate with Dewberry in the Tulsa, OK office.
Owner and principal of KKT Architects, Sarah Gould, shares about her favorite projects and gives advice to future professionals in a recent Tulsa World article.
OU Regional & City Planning students and Landscape Architecture students, along with faculty Meghan Wieters and Tom Woodfin, setup a bike rodeo at Open Streets Norman 2018.
On Friday, April 6, 2018, the University of Oklahoma Student Affairs Office recognized top students for outstanding academic achievement in their programs. Join us in congratulating the four Gibbs students who were presented with this prestigious award.
Seventeen students in the Environmental Design Practicum course implemented tactical urbanism demonstrations of downtown improvements in Blanchard, as part of a partnership between the City of Blanchard, Oklahoma Municipal League, and Institute for Quality Communities.
On Thursday, March 22, a Stickwork sculpture designed by renowned artist Patrick Dougherty, was unveiled at the Chapman Green Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The sculpture is part of placemaking efforts coordinated by Gibbs College of Architecture Urban Design Studio students on behalf of the Urban Core Art Project.
Regional and City Planning assistant professor Bryce Lowery was recently profiled by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). The interview looks at how he became involved with ACSP leadership, what he wanted to be when he was growing up, and his goals for the field.
Regional and City Planning graduate student Matthew McClure was recently named a Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellow. The Newman Civic Fellowship Program is a national program that “recognizes and supports community-committed students who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country.”
The 2018 Charles W. Graham Travel Study Dinner Benefit drew a record-breaking crowd, with over 160 guests gathering at the Petroleum Club in downtown Oklahoma City for an evening of fine dining and networking.
Meghan Wieters, assistant professor of Regional and City Planning, recently published the article “(Inter)facing the Anthropocene: Representing an interdisciplinary interaction” in the journal Resilience, with colleagues Zev Trachtenberg, Antonio J. Castro, Kiza Gates, Asa Randall, Ingo Schlupp, Lynn Soreghan, and Noah Theriault.
The Association of Central Oklahoma Governments awarded graduate student Matthew McClure the Clean Cities internship for the fall 2017 semester.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to share the 2017 issue of Design Matters, highlighting community engagement efforts from the past year.
University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren today announced a leadership gift to the university from Christopher C. Gibbs in support of the College of Architecture. In appreciation of this gift, the largest in the college’s history, the OU Board of Regents has approved Boren’s recommendation to name the College of Architecture in honor of Gibbs.
Following an external peer review process, three research and creative activity projects have been funded by the College of Architecture’s “Program for Research Enhancement.” Congratulations to Dr. Little, Dr. Harris, and Dr. Pilat!
John Harris, assistant professor of Regional and City Planning and co-director of the OU Center for Peace and Development, was recently selected to serve as an official delegate to the 62nd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, to be held at the UN headquarters in March 2018.
Students from the OU Environmental Design program and Institute for Quality Communities recently earned two Citations of Merit at the Statewide Preservation Conference.
Working in collaboration with the Greater Tulsa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and INCOG, Paulina Baeza applied for and was awarded a $5,000 grant from the Tulsa Young Professionals (TYPros) to make her International Plaza concept a reality.
John Harris (RCPL faculty), Gina Sofola (RCPL alumna), Vanessa Morrison (RCPL alumna), and Eyakem Gulilat (RCPL PhD student) won the “Outstanding Project” award for the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Regional and City Planning alumni Gina Sofola and Vanessa Morison, PhD Student Eyakem Gulilat, and Assistant Professor of RCPL, Dr. John Harris recently made an hour-long presentation entitled “Brown Women and the Built Environment: Telling Truth to Power Through Photovoice” at the 2017 Zarrow Mental Health Symposium in Tulsa.
An accessible park design by Landscape Architecture Assistant Professor Dr. Sarah Little was recently featured in The Oklahoma.
Landscape Architecture graduate student Kimberly G. White was recently honored with an Oklahoma City Community Foundation scholarship award by the American Society of Landscape Architects. Her Korean War memorial project was a central portion of the submission.
On September 27th, the College of Architecture hosted the Symposium on Women, Peacebuilding, and Community Transformation in Post-Conflict Environments. The symposium was sponsored by the Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture and brought together grassroots advocates striving for justice and quality of life for women in post-conflict northern Uganda.
This past weekend, a group of College of Architecture faculty and students, led by Construction Science director Prof. Ben Bigelow, traveled to Houston a second time to volunteer with Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts.
The Environmental Design Historic Preservation class met with the City of Moore Assistant City Manager Todd Jensen September 7.
Regional + City Planning student Rachel Gaffney was recently selected as recipient of the 2017 Ed McClure Award for best paper by a master’s student from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
The results of a collaborative photovoice project with 13 members of the Gulu affiliate of the Women’s Advocacy Network are now available in an online exhibition.
Each year, the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, part of the Oklahoma Historical Society, hosts the annual conference with over 300 people from across the state in attendance. For the 2017 conference, Associate Professor Ron Frantz served on the local planning committee for the conference.
The plan, entitled “Downtown Muskogee: A Landscape of Hope,” is the product of nearly a year’s worth of research. It was a collaborative effort by the Institute for Quality Communities, OU College of Architecture, OU-Tulsa Urban Design Studio, the city and various stakeholders.
The “Collaborate, Create, Construct Academy,” funded by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, recently offered rising 9th and 10th graders a one-week opportunity to explore the disciplines in the University of Oklahoma’s College of Architecture.
Regional and City Planning professor Meghan Wieters was recently named a Risser Innovative Teaching Fellow for the 2017-2018 academic year.
The OU Daily reports on Architecture professor Marjorie Callahan’s class, Tools of Practice, which includes a Diplomacy Lab partnership with the U.S. Department of State.
Rachel Ware is a graduate student in Gibbs College’s Master of Landscape Architecture program (Class of 2018). Recently, we had the opportunity to hear about some of Rachel’s favorite experiences as a student in Gibbs College.
The Environmental Design Capstone class from the 2016 Spring Semester received a “Citation of Merit” from the Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office of the Oklahoma Historical Society during Oklahoma’s 29th Annual Statewide Preservation Conference in Oklahoma City in June 2017.
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