The Design-Build Institute of America’s Southwest Region (DBIA-SW) recently awarded support to Ethan Watson, a Construction Science student, and Dr. Tamera McCuen, Professor of Construction Science. These awards were the first of their kind to be awarded by the DBIA-SW.
The Design-Build Institute of America is comprised of architectural, engineering, and construction professionals, as well as academics, students, and project owners. DBIA’s mission is to promote the value of design-build project delivery and teaches the effective integration of design and construction services to ensure success for owners and design and construction practitioners. DBIA is the preeminent resource for leadership, education, objective expertise and best practices for the successful integrated delivery of capital projects. The DBIA’s Southwest Region includes five states — Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Ethan Watson, who received the DBIA-SW’s undergraduate scholarship, is an incoming senior in the the Haskell and Irene Lemon Division of Construction Science here at the University of Oklahoma. He is also minoring in business. According to the DBIA-SW, the panel was impressed by his passion for the field as reflected in his detailed recounting of the 2021 DBIA competition. By following the process, which emphasizes our field’s key tenets of communication and collaboration, he proved to the DBIA-SW scholarship panel that he is ready to be a leader in the construction science industry.
Dr. Tamera McCuen, a Professor of Construction Science at the University of Oklahoma, received the DBIA-SW’s faculty grant. The DBIA-SW panel stated that Dr. McCuen is a passionate design-build practitioner and educator. The grant Dr. McCuen received will fund an interactive event she is hosting outside of the traditional classroom and across traditionally independent fields. This interdisciplinary event will set a blueprint for other professors, practitioners, and owners across the country.
Watson and Dr. McCuen will be recognized at the DBIA-SW’s conference in Spring 2023.
A team of Construction Science and Architecture students from the Gibbs College of Architecture made their mark on the national stage this week, earning third place out of 37 universities competing at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Competition, held during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, February 16-18, 2026.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has elevated Gary Armbruster, FAIA, ALEP to its prestigious College of Fellows—AIA’s highest membership honor—for his exceptional work and sustained contributions to architecture and society. Fellowship recognizes architects who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant impact at a national level. Members elevated to this distinction carry the FAIA designation after their name.
Students from the Spring 2026 Graduate 4 Architecture Design Studio, led by Professor Amy Leveno, exhibited their work at the School of Visual Arts. The exhibition, titled Reimagining the OU School of Visual Arts, featured drawings, models, and animations developed throughout the semester's studio project. The show was hosted in The Spotlight, a creative gallery space located on the first floor of the Fred Jones Art Center, and ran from January 20–30, 2026.
