Dr. Francesco Cianfarani, assistant professor of architecture at the OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, is part of the 2025 cohort for the Academy for Public Scholarship on the Built Environment. The theme of this year’s cohort is housing equity. The program offers participants coaching on how to extend their scholarship beyond academics and influence both conversation and policies in housing.
Dr. Cianfarani’s research encompasses elements of architecture and urban design, with an emphasis on housing. He has investigated housing through field research, mapping, design proposals, and critical studies. His research include infill initiatives in Oklahoma City and the development of a housing database to identify gaps in affordable housing, produced for the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency.
For more information about the program, view the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture press release.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
