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. This national honor highlights her exceptional academic achievement and her commitment to advancing equitable and justice-centered planning.
Tahsin’s recognition by the APA follows another significant accomplishment: she was named the 2024 recipient of the Ed McClure Award for Best Master’s Student Paper by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). Her award-winning paper, “Exploring Transportation Justice and Equity through the Transportation Justice Threshold Index Framework in Municipalities of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma,” impressed the selection committee with its innovative approach and rigorous analysis of transportation equity.
During her time at Gibbs College, Tahsin was supervised and mentored by Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, under whose guidance she developed a strong and deeply informed foundation in equitable and justice-oriented planning. Her scholarship has been shaped by both her personal experiences as an international student navigating transportation barriers in the U.S. and her broader commitment to creating more inclusive and sustainable mobility systems.
Her academic path—beginning with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, continuing through her master’s studies at OU, and now advancing into doctoral work—demonstrates her steadfast dedication to improving urban systems and advancing transportation.
Gibbs College extend its warmest congratulations to Tahsin on these outstanding achievements. We look forward to following the impact of her future scholarship and leadership.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
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.
