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.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture professor and Institute for Quality Communities Director Dr. Amber N. Wiley’s book, Model Schools in the Model City: Race, Planning, and Education in the Nation’s Capital, has received two major honors from the Urban History Association.
Research initiated by Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture alumna Naila Hasan during her master’s studies at the University of Oklahoma has continued through faculty collaboration and resulted in a peer-reviewed publication in HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce Esther Thorp, Tyler Boydstun and Chukwuma Nwokoye as the winners of the 2026 Construction Innovation Translation Hub (CIThub) Student Ideas Competition.
