The Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to announce that Sanjita Basnet, a graduate student in the Master’s in Regional and City Planning program at the University of Oklahoma, has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 American Planning Association (APA) Foundation Diversity Scholarship.
Awarded by the APA Foundation, the highly competitive scholarship supports students who intend to pursue careers in planning and who bring diverse perspectives to the profession. This year, only 21 students nationwide were selected to receive the award, which provides $5,000 in direct support toward academic expenses.
Basnet’s academic work and professional aspirations are grounded in community-engaged planning and the creation of built environments that respond meaningfully to the people they serve. Reflecting on the honor, she shared that receiving the 2025 APA Foundation Diversity Scholarship will have a significant impact on her academic and professional journey.
With her planning degree, Basnet is committed to prioritizing community input as a central component of sustainable community development and responsible planning practice. She described the scholarship as more than financial support, noting that it brings together planning professionals from a wide range of backgrounds and empowers recipients to address long-standing challenges within the field. Basnet expressed deep gratitude to the APA Foundation for its generous support and for investing in the next generation of planners.
Gibbs College congratulates Sanjita Basnet on this outstanding honor and looks forward to the impact she will continue to make through her academic and professional work.
A team of Construction Science and Architecture students from the Gibbs College of Architecture made their mark on the national stage this week, earning third place out of 37 universities competing at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Competition, held during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, February 16-18, 2026.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has elevated Gary Armbruster, FAIA, ALEP to its prestigious College of Fellows—AIA’s highest membership honor—for his exceptional work and sustained contributions to architecture and society. Fellowship recognizes architects who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant impact at a national level. Members elevated to this distinction carry the FAIA designation after their name.
Students from the Spring 2026 Graduate 4 Architecture Design Studio, led by Professor Amy Leveno, exhibited their work at the School of Visual Arts. The exhibition, titled Reimagining the OU School of Visual Arts, featured drawings, models, and animations developed throughout the semester's studio project. The show was hosted in The Spotlight, a creative gallery space located on the first floor of the Fred Jones Art Center, and ran from January 20–30, 2026.
