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.
“OU was a good fit for me as an adult student. It offered a very flexible schedule for me, it offered the ability to marry student life with the life of an adult and a businesswoman.”
Sofola lists the excellence of the professors and the quality of the study abroad opportunities the program offered as highlights from her experience. According to Sofola, the study abroad trip she took with the program gave her and her classmates “the opportunity to apply what we learned to tangible, real-life situations.”
Through her time in the program, Sofola says she was prepared to address problems in the real world.
“I’ve had the opportunity to see that with the way we’ve built our communities and the way we’ve built our cities in the past, some of the unintended consequences have really been detrimental to our society,” says Sofola.
“You come away understanding that the problems that exist are serious, and the solutions really matter.”
Sofola wants to use her skills and experience to impact Oklahoma City, where she grew up, and especially its African American community, “so that they can have a seat at the table and have a voice in shaping their community.”
Visit her website to learn more.
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 OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
