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.
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 dedicated Giving Day in memory of a very special advocate for travel study, the late Professor Nick Harm, who passed away in May 2020.
We want to share a special thank you to Mimi Harm, Gibbs College’s lead sponsor for Giving Day 2021, as well as Mecho Systems, ACME Brick, and Coreslab Structures, who together offered $10,000 in matching gifts this Giving Day.
Thank you, all, for making this a special day in memory of Prof. Harm and in support of student travel study experiences.
Read on to learn how Giving Day 2021 benefitted students through the Nick Harm Memorial Travel Study Scholarship.
It is nearly impossible to capture in words how influential Nick was in so many ways and for so many lives in our College. He arrived at OU in 1981 to begin his teaching career and only recently retired in 2016. In the intervening 35 years, Nick inspired and supported students and faculty to explore and stay curious about the world around them. He served as Director of the Division of Architecture and Interim Dean, and helped start the Division of Architecture Professional Advisory Board, in whom he inspired a dedication to raising funds to support student travel scholarships. His commitment to learning through travel was based on his own life changing experiences in the Army, as well as traveling the world and teaching in Saudi Arabia. Nick even led one of the largest groups of OU students to study in Rome in 2015.
If you knew Prof. Harm, you know he loved an adventure! Pictured above with his family in Egypt, Thailand, Switzerland, Italy, and more.
In anticipation of a time when our students can again safely learn through out-of-classroom experiences, the Division of Architecture Professional Advisory Board is fundraising to rename their entire endowment and all the scholarships generated by it after Nick. The new Nick Harm Memorial Travel Study Scholarship will ensure that Nick’s incredible legacy is forever honored by supporting students’ travel study aspirations in all Gibbs College programs.
Note: You may indicate which of our seven programs — Architecture, Construction Science, Environmental Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Regional and City Planning, or Urban Design — you would like your Giving Day donation to support.
Each year, students from all of our programs explore Oklahoma, the U.S. and beyond. Recent travel study experiences have taken our students abroad to Italy, Zambia, and Uganda, as well as closer to home — including OKC, Waurika and Chickasha.
Check out the videos below to learn more about travel study at Gibbs College!
We are so grateful to our sponsors Mimi Harm and Acme Brick who have made this event possible with up to $10,000 gift matching.
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.
