Ron Frantz, Associate Professor and Director of Small Town Studios with the Institute for Quality Communities, recently presented the keynote address at the 2022 Iowa Downtown Conference. The conference, held in Pella, Iowa, was organized by the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center and included plenary sessions with speakers and educational breakout sessions focusing on downtown revitalization, field sessions, tours, an exhibit hall and several networking activities in cool venues. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the latest trends, acquire practical information and ideas, and learn strategies relevant to rural, mid-sized, and urban communities.
Frantz’s talk, titled “Recruiting the Next Generation of Downtown Preservationists,” pulled from his experiences teaching the Historic Preservation Course at Gibbs College. He discussed ways to engage college students in historic preservation and revitalization. In his presentation, he talked about his approach for delivering design recommendations to help future leaders step into the world feeling confident as historic preservation supporters and downtown enthusiasts.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
