John Harris has agreed to serve as interim director of the newly established Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. The appointment was effective July 1, 2023.
The appointment was announced by Gibbs College Dean Hans E. Butzer. “Today is an important day in the history of this college and the new PLAD division,” Butzer said. “John identified years ago that this constellation of programs we now know as PLAD could accelerate enrollment growth and stability, while adding new energy to the teaching and research mission shared by its faculty. He is the ideal person to lead the division at this exciting time.”
Harris, who is an associate professor of Regional and City Planning, is an award-winning scholar in the field of informal urbanization in Sub Saharan Africa. He has published his research in top journals in the field, including World Development, Journal of Planning Education and Research and Gender, Place and Culture. Previously, he served as director of the Gibbs College Division of Regional and City Planning.
The new PLAD Division was created through the administrative consolidation of four separate Gibbs College divisions and programs: Environmental Design, Landscape Architecture, Regional and City Planning and Urban Design. By consolidating these smaller programs into one division, Gibbs College seeks to foster a stronger teaching, research, and service setting; facilitate more collaborations involving faculty and students; and maximize administrative and operational efficiencies.
Harris said, “All of us in the PLAD community are excited about the opportunities to grow the impact we have on Oklahoma, our professions, and the world.” He continued, “I look forward to the things we will be able to do together.”
Please join us in congratulating Harris.
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.
