Gibbs College PhD student Felipe Flores recently won the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Excellence in Teaching Award. MAGS is an organization of colleges and universities that works to advance graduate studies by improving program standards, sharing information, and encouraging research.
The MAGS award recognizes outstanding student teachers and mentors and emphasizes their importance in improving graduate education. One doctoral student and one master’s student were awarded with a citation and a $750 honorarium at the 79th Annual MAGS meeting on March 29-31, 2023, in Chicago, Illinois.
Flores was honored with this award for his dedication to architecture and planning education. He strives to make this discipline more inclusive of non-Western viewpoints by creating a more diverse and inclusive educational environment for emerging architects. Ever since he joined as a doctoral student in the Fall of 2021, Flores has engaged with undergraduate students, organized events that serve our student community, and explored new learning opportunities to improve his instructional techniques.
His dedication to teaching excellence has made a positive impact on many students across Gibbs college. Student Sabrina Feist reflected on her time with Flores, “[Felipe] respected my ideas and guided me to a precedent that taught me how to capitalize on what I loved while staying true to the project and practice. He was excited and ready to show me how to use my own interests in my work.”
Another student, Benjamin Jawad, said “Successful teachers can recognize and push their students to reach their potential, even when they are unaware of it. Due to Felipe’s commitment to guiding his students to reach their full potential and providing them with valuable growth opportunities, I believe he has provided me with the best academic experience possible through the Gibbs College of Architecture.”
Below are some of the teaching and mentoring opportunities Flores has actively engaged in during his time at Gibbs:
Congratulations to Felipe Flores for receiving this well-deserved award!
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.
Gibbs Construction Science and Architecture students recently traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to compete in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 8 Student Competition. The team partnered with Czech Technical University and secured third place in the Design-Build category.
Gibbs College is pleased to present the exhibition Vollendorf in Oklahoma: The Architecture of Dean Bryant Vollendorf during the Spring 2026 semester. It will be on display in Gould Hall, on the OU-Norman Campus, from February 16, 2026 - March 13, 2026.
