October 2025 — The Lemon Family Distinguished Speaker Series in Community and Real Estate Development launched this fall with its inaugural lecture delivered by Jared Della Valle, CEO and Co-Founder of Alloy Development. Hosted jointly by the Gibbs College of Architecture and the Price College of Business, at the University of Oklahoma, the lecture took place at the Thurman J. White Forum and marked the beginning of an annual collaboration between Gibbs College and the Price College.
Della Valle’s talk offered insights into the planning, design, and community impact of the Alloy Block—a pioneering mixed-use development in Downtown Brooklyn that integrates architecture, sustainability, and civic engagement.
With more than 25 years of experience as a real estate professional and architect, Della Valle has led the acquisition and pre-development of more than two million square feet in New York City, including projects in Chelsea along the High Line, Hudson Yards, DUMBO, and Downtown Brooklyn. He also serves as Chair of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, sits on the board of the Architectural League of New York, and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA).
The Lemon Family Endowed Distinguished Speaker Series was established to advance dialogue on the intersection of community and real estate development by bringing leading voices from both practice and academia to campus. The series is co-hosted by Gibbs College of Architecture and Price College of Business, with coordination duties alternating annually between the two colleges.
The event brought together students, faculty, and staff from Gibbs College and Price College, along with members of the Lemon family. Gibbs College offers its deepest thanks to all who made this event possible—especially the Lemon Family for championing this meaningful cross-campus collaboration.
To learn more about Jared Della Valle’s work and the Alloy Block project, visit thealloyblock.com.
Della Valle addresses audience members.
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
