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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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?”
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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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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