The Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Tahsin Tabassum, a recent graduate of the college’s Master of Regional and City Planning program and current doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, for receiving the prestigious 2024–2025 American Planning Association (APA) Outstanding Student Award.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the 2025 Graduate Student Research Enhancement (GSRE) Award, a new program designed to support graduate-led research with strong potential to advance scholarship across the design and construction disciplines.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to announce that the University of Oklahoma Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships has awarded $30,052 through the Strategic Equipment Investment Program (SEIP) to support the launch of the Mobile Urban Design Unit (MUDU). This new resource will allow OU teams to bring high-quality tools for research and community engagement directly into towns and neighborhoods across Oklahoma.
On November 19, 2025, Gibbs College of Architecture hosted a panel focused on how artificial intelligence can be integrated into the University of Oklahoma’s (OU) and College’s policies and practices, as well as its teaching and research efforts.
Charles Warnken, an associate professor in the University of Oklahoma’s Master of Regional and City Planning (MRCP) program, is leading a major national academic event in his role as the National Conference Committee Chair for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
The University of Oklahoma’s Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture hosted the inaugural Oklahoma Housing Supply Accelerator Coalition event on November 13, 2025, a day-long gathering dedicated to addressing the state’s growing housing challenges and exploring solutions to expand the supply of attainable homes.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support. Jack Crowley is part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support.
Telesis is the student-led journal at the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture. The Telesis team is considering the theme of “DESIGN_LESS” in its forthcoming issue (Vol. VIII). We invite you to contribute your work–design proposals, essays, stories, poetry, art, or other media–to this exciting publication until November 14, 2025. Contributors may be students, faculty, professionals, or community members from inside and outside the University of Oklahoma.
Gibbs College welcomes new assistant professors Terry Clinefelter in the Haskell & Irene Lemon Construction Science Division and Dr. Wei Liu in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, Assistant Professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design at the OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has recently published her research in the prestigious journal Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning. Her article, “Unveiling the dynamics of innovation districts: An empirical study of key features and governance structure in fourteen U.S. cities,” explores the growing phenomenon of innovation districts (IDs)—place-based strategies designed to foster entrepreneurship, collaboration, and economic development in urban areas.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture has earned national recognition with its student-produced journal Telesis, which has been awarded the 2025 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals by the Center for Architecture in New York City.
The Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design at the University of Oklahoma’s Gibbs College is pleased to announce the appointment of incoming Assistant Professor, Dr. Wei Liu, beginning in Fall 2025.
Please join us in congratulating the 2025 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. Recipients were honored by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting and will be recognized during the college awards banquet in October. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
Regional + City Planning student Landon Jones was hired as an intern with the City of Oklahoma City’s Planned Development and Implementation Division in the Planning Department.
Telesis, a journal produced by students and faculty in the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has earned first-place with the 2025 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals for its sixth volume, “The Essence.”
The City of Shawnee, in collaboration with Pottawatomie Go, and the University of Oklahoma (OU), has been awarded a $172,264 planning grant for the 2024-25 period. This grant, provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation, will be used to develop a comprehensive Safe Streets Action Plan aimed at enhancing the safety and infrastructure of Shawnee’s streets.
At a recent American Planning Association (APA) and Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) data session during the 2025 ACSP Administrator’s Conference, Oklahoma was recognized as a national leader in planning education and professional engagement.
The University of Oklahoma’s Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture & Design (PLAD) is proud to announce Dez Harris as the inaugural recipient of the Ralph Ochsner Fellowship, a prestigious award created to support students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, character, and a commitment to community-focused planning.
Regional and City Planning students worked with Tulakes Neighborhood Ministries in Oklahoma City to offer recommendations for their site needs and possible paths for expanded services.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture dean Hans E. Butzer addresses graduates during the Spring 2025 commencement ceremony.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to announce the release of Telesis “Unfold,” the dynamic seventh volume of its award-winning student journal. Fully led, curated, and created by students, this seventh volume embraces the theme of unfolding, encouraging deep reflection, process-driven exploration, and storytelling from the margins.
Two students from the Gibbs College of Architecture, Cole Burris and Leandra LeForce, were recently named Mr. and Miss Indigenous OU. The titles were awarded as part of the annual Mr. and Miss Indigenous OU competition, a campus-wide event that celebrates Native culture, identity, and leadership.
A team of graduate students from the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture claimed a significant victory April 27, earning top honors in the Multi-Family Housing Division of the international BuildingNEXT competition, held at the U.S. Department of Energy’s laboratory in Golden, Colorado.
On April 18, 2025, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture hosted its annual Graduate Student Showcase, a celebration of research, design innovation, and creative exploration across all graduate programs within the College. The event transformed Gould Hall into a vibrant exhibition of ideas where students shared their work with faculty, peers, and the broader community.
An unprecedented coalition of Oklahoma’s academic institutions, Tribal Nations, industry leaders, nonprofits, and government agencies has officially submitted a full proposal to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Engines Program. Titled WxFORGE — Forging New Frontiers in Extreme Weather Resilience and Innovation, the effort aims to position Oklahoma as a national leader in resilient infrastructure technologies, workforce development, and weather-adaptive innovations.
Lahari Peluri, an alumna of OU’s Master of Urban Design program, recently contributed to a project that was honored with the prestigious Vernon Deines Award by the American Planning Association’s Small Town and Rural Planning Division. The Stephenville 2050 Comprehensive Plan, envisions a more resilient, community-driven future for the City of Stephenville, Texas, and stands out as a model for small-town planning nationwide.
The OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the Leadership in Built Environment Research (L-BER) seed funding program. The inaugural pilot project, "Data-Driven Approaches for Addressing Rural Transportation Challenges and Enhancing Community Health and Wellbeing," is led by Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, an assistant professor of Regional and City Planning in the Gibbs College of Architecture
This April, architectural historian and preservationist Dr. Amber N. Wiley will release her book, Model Schools in the Model City, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Dr. Wiley is an associate professor of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and the Wick Cary Director of the Institute for Quality Communities in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma.
A message from Dr. Amber N. Wiley, director of the OU Institute for Quality Communities.
The 2025 Charles W. Graham Travel Study Gala was a record-breaking success, with over $75,000 raised. The proceeds from this event directly benefit students who are eager to travel and gain hands-on learning experiences.
Students in the Regional and City Planning (RCPL) program’s studio course are putting their skills to work in Taft, Oklahoma, one of thirteen remaining Black townships in the state. This multi-semester project is focused on helping the town develop a zoning framework that reflects its unique history and future goals.
Following a national search, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma has named Dr. Amber Wiley as the new director of the Institute for Quality Communities. An award-winning scholar, Wiley brings more than 15 years of experience in teaching, research and professional practice in historic preservation, architecture and community engagement.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, an assistant professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, has published an Open Access textbook titled “Green Cities and Transportation” in collaboration with scholars from the University of Texas at Arlington. This comprehensive guide explores the intersection of urban planning and transportation to advance sustainable mobility, mitigate climate change, and promote transportation equity for low-income communities.
Telesis, the student-led journal at the University of Oklahoma’s Gibbs College of Architecture, proudly announces the release of its sixth volume, “The Essence”. This edition embarks on a profound journey to rediscover what lies at the core of our work as designers and creators, a return to fundamentals in an era often characterized by superficiality and digital distractions.
The 2024 Gibbs College of Architecture Celebration Banquet brought together students, faculty, alumni, and donors to celebrate scholarship awards and induct three distinguished alumni into the Gibbs College Hall of Fame. Held at the Sam Noble Museum, the event recognized the achievements and commitment of the Gibbs College community.
Petya Stefanoff, a Ph.D. student in OU’s Planning, Design and Construction degree program, has been honored with the Annual Outstanding Plan Award by the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Planning Association, alongside her teammates.
University of Oklahoma senior Mohamed Elgouhari has been named a finalist in the SEC Start Up competition for student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference for his personal fitness app Gametime Rehab.
Tahsin Tabassum, a second-year student at OU’s master’s program in Regional and City Planning, has been honored with the Ed McClure Award for Best Master’s Student Paper by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP). Her paper, titled “Exploring Transportation Justice and Equity through the Transportation Justice Threshold Index Framework in Municipalities of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma,” was recognized for its innovative approach to addressing transportation equity. Her paper was developed as part of a project for her “Transportation Geography and Planning” course.
University of Oklahoma senior Mohamed Elgouhari has been named a finalist in the SEC Start Up competition for student-athletes in the Southeastern Conference for his personal fitness app Gametime Rehab.
Gibbs College is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards. These outstanding individuals were honored by dean Hans E. Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting on August 14, 2024. Recipients were selected by the Gibbs College Awards Committee following an open nomination process.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma (OU) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. John Harris to a four-year term as the inaugural Director of the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture & Design (PLAD), effective July 1, 2024.
Regional and City Planning professor, Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, has recently published an article in the prestigious Journal of Planning Literature. The article, titled “How Remote Working and Placelessness Affect Future Planning for Innovation Districts: A Systematic Review of the Literature,” examines the impacts of telework and the gig economy on planning for innovation districts.
An interdisciplinary group of OU scholars led a tour of Route 66 in Oklahoma, one of eight competitively selected sites for the National Humanities Center’s first “Being Human” festival. The festival consists of events designed to "highlight the incredible breadth of the humanities and demonstrate how they add depth and meaning to our lives, help us understand ourselves and one another, and provide context for the complex world around us.”
Ladan Mozaffarian, assistant professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, recently participated in the esteemed International Conference on Urban Affairs. This annual event brings together urban-focused researchers, planners and policy advocates to examine strategies to make cities more equitable and resilient.
Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional and City Planning, recently published an article in The Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. The article, “Societal Transformation Through Social Entrepreneurial Action Research,” explores recent research Lowery conducted with collaborators from the San Diego State University Fowler College of Business and School of Public Affairs.
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Nominations are now open for the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame. The goal of the Gibbs Hall of Fame is to recognize a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact over time to Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe.
Although he was born and died in North Texas (Wichita Falls and Tyler), Norm was a proud Sooner. Raised and educated in Wewoka and Norman, he became Midwest City’s first planning director, later assuming the role of planning director for Oklahoma City during the mid-1970s.
Regional and City Planning faculty John Harris and Charlie Warnken are part of an interdisciplinary team that was recently awarded a $599,000 Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. With this funding, the OU team will support the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality to prepare a climate action plan that will reduce emissions in communities across the state.
Seven faculty members from the divisions of Regional and City Planning, Architecture and Interior Design were recently awarded funding through Gibbs College’s Program for Research Enhancement. These grants of up to $6,500 are available to full-time faculty members of Gibbs College to support their research and creative activities.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is excited to announce the Spring 2024 Career and Internship Fair! The event will take place on Thursday, February 22, 2024, from 3:30 – 6 p.m. at the Thurman J. White Forum.
The community of Westville, Oklahoma was recently awarded a Built Environment Grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust to continue implementing a plan developed by OU’s Institute for Quality Communities. With the designs provided by the OU team, Westville city officials hope to enhance the town’s streetscapes and improve overall community connectivity.
Gibbs College’s annual Charles W. Graham Travel Study Gala will be held on February 23, 2024, from 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. at VAST (333 W. Sheridan Ave, 50th Floor, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 – click here for parking information). It will feature a three-course meal with fine wine pairings. Individual tickets are $200. All proceeds support student travel study scholarships and opportunities.
During summer 2023, the fourth annual Grassroots Women’s Peace Conference was convened at St. Monica’s Vocational School in Gulu, Uganda. The conference was organized by OU’s Center for Peace and Development and St. Monica’s as well as 10 other grassroots women’s organizations. The conference also received support from a gift by the Gibbs College of Architecture.
Telesis is the student-led journal at the University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture. Following its last volume, “Adaptive Practice” (Vol. V), the Telesis team is considering the theme of “The Essence” in its forthcoming volume (Vol. VI). We invite you to contribute your work–design proposals, essays, stories, poetry, art or other media–to this exciting publication until Monday, November 27, 2023. Contributors may be students, faculty, professionals, or community members from inside and outside the University of Oklahoma.
The University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture, in partnership with the OU School of Visual Arts, is pleased to announce that Alison Fisher and Craig Lee will give a public lecture as a part of the 2023 Goff Lecture Series. The lecture will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m. in Nielsen Hall, room 170.
Bruce Wilkinson, OU alumnus and major supporter of Gibbs College, recently received a Regents’ Alumni Award from the OU Board of Regents and OU Alumni Association. This award celebrates the profound way OU alumni and supporters shape the university’s vibrant future.
Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional and City Planning in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, recently testified before the Oklahoma State Senate Judiciary Committee. Lowery was asked to testify as part of an interim study on housing in Oklahoma. The study, “Housing for All Oklahomans: Availability, Safety, Stability,” was convened by Senator Chuck Hall (OK-20) and Senator Julia Kirt (OK-30) and included testimony from experts about ways the state can improve housing security.
Telesis, the Gibbs College of Architecture’s award-winning student journal, is releasing its fifth edition in Fall 2023. This edition, “Adaptive Practice,” called for contributions from interdisciplinary problem solvers who reject the status quo and redefine “business as usual” through their work.
Salma Akter Surma, a Ph.D. student in Planning, Design and Construction, was recently awarded the Security in Context Research Fellowship from the OU Center for Peace and Development. During her fellowship, Akter will research how trauma-informed care approaches can be applied in the planning and design process of child-friendly built environments in the refugee context.
Gibbs College is excited to announce that Gould Hall underwent several renovations during summer 2023. These building improvements were made in an effort to meet the growing needs of students, faculty and staff, as student enrollment has increased by over 300 students in the past five years.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is excited to announce the Fall 2023 Career and Internship Fair! The event will take place on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, from 3-6 p.m. at the Thurman J. White Forum.
Gibbs College, in partnership with its OU Institute for Quality Communities, is announcing a leadership transition. Shane Hampton has stepped down from the role of executive director of the Institute for Quality Communities, effective Aug. 25. The IQC team will continue to lead programs and projects in the 2023 – 2024 academic year.
Please join us in congratulating the 2023 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. Recipients were honored by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting on Thursday, Aug. 17. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
James Collard, professor of Regional and City Planning and director of planning and economic development for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, was invited to speak at the “Making Global Goals a Local Affair” webinar. The event took place on Aug. 10 and was hosted by the International Economic Development Council.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the creation of the new Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design.
Larry Hopper, FAICP, is an alumnus of the OU Master of Regional and City Planning program and is currently a freelance planning consultant. He was formerly the principal planner for the transit agency for Oklahoma City. Hopper is still an active member of the OU community, and recently donated $25,000 to the Gibbs College of Architecture to establish the Hopper Family’s Planning Scholarship. We sat down with him to learn more about his experience at OU and in the professional planning field, and what inspired him to give back to the university. Read on for highlights.
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that Thomas Kang is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming fall semester. Thomas Kang is a professor in the Department of Architecture & Architectural Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU) in Korea. Before that, he was a professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science at OU and has held various affiliated positions at universities around the world.
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that David Logan is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming school year. Logan is currently the Director of Tax & Trade Policy Analysis for the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that Chadwick Allen is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming fall semester, co-sponsored by OU Departments of English, Film & Media Studies, Geography and Native American Studies. Chadwick Allen serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement at the University of Washington Seattle (UW), where he is also a Professor of English and Adjunct Professor of American Indian Studies. He has published numerous books and has conducted interdisciplinary work on Indigenous earthworks – a study of cultural and political revitalization through the built environment.
Following an internal search, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture has appointed Suchismita (Suchi) Bhattacharjee as associate dean for academics and college administration, effective July 1, 2023.
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.
OU Gibbs College is pleased to announce that Jonathan Tate is invited to give a public lecture in the upcoming fall semester. Jonathan Tate is the founder and principal of OJT, an award-winning architecture firm based in New Orleans. OJT was established in 2011 as a creative, expansive, and exploratory practice with a desire to contribute to contemporary discourse.
The Gibbs College of Architecture and OU Libraries invite you to celebrate exhibitions on the American School in California. These exhibitions showcase the works of John Marsh Davis and Mickey Muennig, two architects who studied at OU under Bruce Goff and went on to have distinguished careers in California.
Twelve Gibbs students recently traveled to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona for a travel study course led by Interior Design Professor Mia Kile. Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio in the desert and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark.
OU Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that David J. Lewis, a principal of LTL Architects and dean of Parsons School of Constructed Environments, has been appointed as the Goff Chair of Creative Architecture for fall 2023. For his lecture, Lewis will discuss his work related to the Manual of Biogenic House Sections, which articulates how plant-based and low-carbon materials can produce a profound rethinking of section in houses.
The OU Center for Peace and Development (CPD) is now accepting applications for the fall 2023 Security in Context (SiC) Research Fellows grant. All OU graduate students are eligible to apply, and selected students will receive a scholarship of $2,500 for the upcoming fall semester.
Gibbs College invites applications for several temporary faculty positions. Please help us share these opportunities broadly. We are excited to be adding to our amazing team!
Fernando Costa, a professor of practice in the Regional + City Planning program, recently chaired a seven-member Urban Land Institute (ULI) advisory services panel in Fort Wayne, Indiana. ULI is a global, multidisciplinary research and education organization that promotes best practices in real estate development. Professor Costa currently serves ULI as a Global Governing Trustee, Americas Executive Committee member, and member of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee.
Over the past year, Dr. Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional + City Planning, has been working with a team of University of Oklahoma researchers to study how to best use the $36 million granted to the state of Oklahoma by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support unhoused and housing-insecure Oklahomans. The team’s plan was recently approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, starting the process of allocating the $36 million in resources to the state of Oklahoma.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an Associate Professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently quoted in an article about digital billboards in The Wall Street Journal. Debates in cities like San Diego and Los Angeles suggest ongoing disagreements about where bright digital displays should be permitted in cities.
Regional + City Planning students Logan Gray and Emily Pendergrast recently published op-eds regarding planning issues within Norman and across the state of Oklahoma. The students developed the articles as part of Dr. C. Aujean Lee’s course, “Planning with Diverse Communities.”
On March 20th, hundreds of planning and design professionals, civic leaders, and students gathered at the University of Oklahoma for the 5th biennial Institute for Quality Communities’ Placemaking Conference. The all-day event featured speakers working in a variety of fields, all of which contribute to community placemaking.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently interviewed by NPR reporter Nick Alexandrov for the podcast “Focus: Black Oklahoma.” This KOSU program covers news and public affairs that impact African American and BIPOC communities across Oklahoma.
On March 29, 2023, Regional + City Planning faculty Dr. John C. Harris and Dr. C Aujean Lee joined doctoral student and Institute for Quality Communities Research Fellow Rebecca Blaine to present to MetaFund about community engagement practices.
Regional + City Planning student Iman Abubakar recently published an op-ed in the OU Daily about transportation inequities in Norman. Iman’s article, “Dismantling transportation barriers to socioeconomic equity,” explores accessibility and frequency issues with Norman’s public transportation system.
Last summer, researchers at the University of Oklahoma began working with the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency to determine how to best deploy approximately $35 million to support unhoused and housing-insecure Oklahomans. Dr. Bryce Lowery, associate professor in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, worked with Dr. David McLeod and Dr. Christina Miller in the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work and eight graduate students to collect data to determine the best focus for this funding.
In February, OU Landscape Architecture and Regional + City Planning students worked with OSU Landscape Architecture students to host a community event in Perkins, Oklahoma. Students explored the city and engaged with residents to learn more about the small town and the design problems it faces.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional + City Planning (RCPL), recently presented for the University of Texas as Austin’s School of Architecture’s lecture series City Forum. During her talk, “Subcontracting Neighborhood Planning and Impacts on Grassroots Organizing: A Case Study of Oklahoma City,” Dr. Lee shared the work she had been doing with RCPL Director Dr. John Harris about neighborhood planning processes that are conducted through nonprofits.
Dr. Santina Contreras, an Assistant Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, recently visited Gibbs College to present her talk, “Building Resilience through Community Practices: Exploring Community-led Efforts to Address Gaps in Relocation and Resettlement Programs” as part of the Regional + City Planning Kuhlman lecture series.
A gift to the University of Oklahoma will honor alumnus and esteemed architect Bob Faust by creating multiple new faculty and staff positions dedicated to the American School, an innovative design practice developed at OU in the 1950s and ’60s. Sherry Faust, Bob Faust’s spouse, has made a multi-million-dollar planned gift in his honor to University Libraries and OU’s Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture.
The 2023 Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner was a huge success, with about 200 attendees and over $34,000 raised. The 11th annual event was held Friday, February 11, at Vast restaurant in Oklahoma City. The proceeds from this event directly benefit students who are eager to travel and gain hands on learning experiences.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, Associate Professor of Regional and City Planning, was elected to the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Governing Board. The ACSP is an organization that connects educators, researchers, and students to expand knowledge about planning education and research.
Join us in listening to Dr. Andrew Van Leuven discuss his experience with the economic development of rural communities in Oklahoma! The event will take place on Thursday, February 9th from 12:00-1:15 in Gould Hall, Room 345.
GCA Communications intern Kathlyn Dannewald spoke with Purvi Patel, a Regional + City Planning alumna here at Gibbs! We sat down with Patel to learn about her experiences with the RCPL program as an international student, and her exciting career in the city planning industry.
The Master’s in Regional + City Planning (MRCP) program is hosting a virtual open house! Join them on zoom to learn more about the degree program. The two sessions will take place virtually on Friday, February 3rd and Friday, February 10th from 12:00-1:00.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an Associate Professor of Regional and City Planning, collaborated with Dr. Madison Swayne, Dr. Iana Castro, and doctoral student Jessica Embry of San Diego State University to explore food security issues in the San Diego County area. Their work was published in Preventing Chronic Disease, a peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Regional + City Planning alumnus Rhys Wilson recently published an APA practice guide, “8 Steps to an Effective Code Transition,” in the American Planning Association publication Zoning Practice. Rhys Wilson graduated from the RCPL program in 2017 and currently works in the Urban Planning + Design division of Freese and Nichols, an engineering, planning and consulting firm working across the Southwest and Southeast United States.
The Regional + City Planning program has taken significant steps to attract and create a supportive environment for international students. In fall 2022, 18 of the 43 RCPL students were international students. In 2019, the RCPL program adopted an Underrepresented Student Recruitment Plan because of the ethical obligations of the planning field to diversify representation and promote institutional change. While the planning field has made successful strides in reaching gender parity, the field is still falling behind in other forms of diversity, including international students and students of color.
The Gibbs College of Architecture’s Division of Regional + City Planning recently celebrated its 75th anniversary as well as its successful Planning Accreditation Board reaccreditation. Established in 1947, the Gibbs Regional + City Planning program is the seventh oldest planning program in the United States. The program boasts over 700 hundred alumni who spend their careers shaping the future of communities across the country.
As part of a collaboration with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, the Institute for Quality Communities, the City of El Reno, Michael Höffner, and Emily Fitzsimmons formed a team to research and provide recommendations concerning Sunset Drive, a stretch of Route 66 west of downtown El Reno, Oklahoma.
The Gibbs College Regional + City Planning Department’s second Kuhlman lecture featuring Dr. Joel Mendez of the University of Kansas is now available on YouTube! The talk was cosponsored by the RCPL department, the OU Center for Peace and Development, and the OU Center for Social Justice.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently invited to speak at Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning’s speaker series. Dr. Lee shared about her experiences crafting a research project, applying for research funding, and the development of her article, “Engaging Non-Citizens in an Age of Uncertainty: Lessons from Immigrant-Serving Nonprofits in Los Angeles County,” in the Journal of the American Planning Association.
The Gibbs College of Architecture’s annual Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner is back for 2022! The dinner will be held on Friday, April 8th, 2022, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Petroleum Club in Oklahoma City. The event will feature a multi-course meal with fine wine pairings.
Gibbs College’s annual Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner will be held on February 10, 2023, from 6:00 – 9:30 p.m. at VAST (333 W. Sheridan Ave, 50th Floor, Oklahoma City, OK 73102). It will feature a three-course meal with fine wine pairings.
The Center for Spatial Analysis recently hosted OU’s 2022 GIS Day, on November 16 in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, featuring a student poster competition with cash prizes giving attendees the opportunity to network with GIS professionals. Two of the undergraduate winners, Daniela Kosnacova and Luke Kerr, were advised by Gibbs College faculty members.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an assistant professor of Regional and City Planning, and Dr. John C. Harris, the Director of the Regional and City Planning program, recently had their article published in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
Regional and City Planning Alum Chris Bodzioch and his colleagues at the Oklahoma County Assessor’s Office recently won the 2022 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award. The team received this award for their dedication to creating a transparent and accessible source of information for the public.
Dr. John Harris, Director of the OU Division of Regional + City Planning, and Dr. Firat Demir, professor of Economics at the University of Oklahoma, recently received a renewed grant from the Carnegie Corporation to continue the work of the Center for Peace and Development (CPD) and the Security in Context Network (SIC) through 2024.
Madison Hughes, an alumna of the Regional + City Planning Program, was hired earlier this year at Mosaic Community Planning, a company that works with local governments across the United States to help with housing and community development and engagement projects.
A project team of University of Oklahoma researchers and Oklahoma City civic partners are collaborating to create the Legacy Building Toolset, a digital platform that will allow community members to collectively explore identity, the meaning of place, and create and engage with community assets and more easily allow community members to participate in community collaboration projects.
The Division of Regional + City Planning hosted Dr. Andrew Greenlee as part of the Kuhlman lecture series, which is cosponsored by the OU Center for Peace and Development and the Center for Social Justice. Dr. Greenlee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor of Regional and City Planning at OU, was awarded a Big XII Faculty Fellowship for Spring 2023.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently co-authored the article “Combining social network analysis and geographic information system for communication research: an application to immigrant communities” in Cogent Social Sciences.
Gibbs College of Architecture faculty members,Professor Dave Boeck and Dr. Bryce Lowery, recently presented at the 2022 Oklahoma Housing Conference hosted by the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), an organization that works to provide housing resources to the Oklahoman community.
The National Brownfields Training Conference was held in Oklahoma City from August 16th through the 19th. The local and national planning committees for the annual conference began work on the meeting in March of 2020. Ron Frantz, Director of the Environmental Design Program, served on the Local Planning Committee’s Mobile Workshops, Socials, and Evening Receptions Committee.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Division, recently published an article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research titled “Who Gets Hired at the Top?: The Academic Caste System Theory in the Planning Academy.” The article is the first to examine detailed faculty demographics and impacts of elite hiring networks among planning faculty, where nearly half of planning faculty graduated from five universities.
John Harris, Director of the Regional + City Planning program, recently published an article in a special issue of the Journal of Urban Affairs titled “The gendered postconflict city: Possibilities for more livable urban transformations in Gulu, northern Uganda.” Harris – along with co-authors Daniel Komakech, David Monk, and Maria del Guadalupe Davidson – attempt to develop theory and urban management concepts around the notion of the gendered postconflict city as a unique urban identity. The article also works to re-center the analysis on the everyday experiences, agency, and city building practices of women.
The RCPL program has an incredibly high placement rate for new graduates. Graduates quickly become leading practitioners in the field of urban planning. Select graduates from the spring are featured below.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Division, is the first author on the report Oil and Blood: The Color of Wealth in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This report is part of a series of reports that investigates the modern racial wealth gap in six major U.S. cities published by the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University.
Telesis, the Gibbs College of Architecture’s award-winning student journal, is releasing its fourth edition in Fall 2022. This edition, “Habitation,” questions how we may ensure all things, living and non-living, may continue to inhabit our planet. “Habitation” continues the overarching theme explored in “Isolation”: “How can design aid people’s sense of belonging?”
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently published an article in Public Integrity, a leading journal in the field of public administration. Dr. Lee co-authored the article with Aarika Forney, an OU doctoral student in Political Science. The article, titled “A Primer on Asian Americans and Asian American Studies for Public Administration,” serves as an introduction to public administration and public institutions about Asian Americans and community-led efforts to lead to institutional change.
The Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) recently completed a year-long project sponsored by the Association for Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG). ACOG's Community Economic Resiliency Initiative allowed the IQC to launch a new Community Engagement Fellowship, in which four Gibbs faculty members and a dozen Gibbs students provided planning services in the cities of El Reno, Guthrie, and Harrah.
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma, including Dr. Bryce Lowery of the Regional and City Planning Division, are working with the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency to assess services available across the state that help Oklahomans experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.
Please join us in congratulating the 2022 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. Recipients were honored by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting on Thursday, August 18. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, Assistant Professor of Regional + City Planning, was recently interviewed on a TV show in South Korea about anti-Asian violence and stigma. Dr. Lee published an article on anti-Asian hate and local government responses in the Journal of Planning Education and Research, and was invited to be interviewed on an episode of PD Notes, an investigative journalism TV program in South Korea.
A small but dedicated group of OU faculty and students in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture are living out one of the university’s highest aspirations in a very concrete way: to positively impact the state of Oklahoma and its communities through improvements to a main thoroughfare for one under-resourced city while offering students priceless experience in urban design and planning.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, an Assistant Professor in the Regional + City Planning Department, recently co-authored the article, “Fintech’s relationship with subprime lending in immigrant gateway metropolitan areas,” in the Journal of Urban Affairs.
Dr. Laura Harjo, an associate professor of Native American Studies and Regional + City Planning faculty affiliate, recently organized and presented the exhibition Muscogee (Creek) Tribal Town Futurity: Spatial Storytelling with Emergent Technologies in the Gould Hall Buskuhl Gallery. She was assisted by Gibbs College’s Dr. Angela Person (Architecture) and Prof. Shawn Schaefer (Urban Design), as well as several Architecture and Urban Design students, Gibbs College staff, and others.
Regional + City Planning alumnus Joseph Laws was recently interviewed by The Oklahoman about new COVID-19 relief funds available to Oklahoma businesses through the American Rescue Plan Act. Joseph is the OKC Rescue Program manager at the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City.
RCPL Assistant Professor Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently presented at the Urban Affairs Association conference in Washington DC. The Urban Affairs Association is dedicated to creating interdisciplinary spaces for engaging in intellectual and practical discussions about urban life.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an associate professor in the Division of Regional + City Planning, is part of the University of Oklahoma Sewage Surveillance Team which recently received the Award for Excellence in Transdisciplinary, Convergent Research. This award was part of the 2022 Norman Campus Faculty Awards and Honors which were recognized during the Faculty Awards Luncheon on April 14th.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis spoke with Anna Siprikova, a Regional + City Planning alumna here at Gibbs! We sat down with Siprikova to learn about her experiences with the RCPL program and her work at NACTO-GDCI as the Program Manager for the Streets for Kids Program.
Ebone Smith, a graduate student with the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, recently published an op-ed in The Oklahoman about extreme heat waves in Oklahoma City. The column titled, “As we adapt to climate change, we must not forget to protect vulnerable communities in OKC,” was written as part of the Regional + City Planning course “Planning with Diverse Communities” taught by Dr. C. Aujean Lee.
The University of Oklahoma Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) was recently mentioned in an article in The Washington Post about Tullahassee, Oklahoma. The article, titled “A historic all-Black town wants reparations to rebuild as a ‘safe haven,’” explores the history of the historic Black town Tullahassee and their community’s journey to rebuild after years of decline due to government policies.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee, Regional + City Planning Professor, recently published an article in the Journal of Planning Education and Research on government-issued responses to anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, associate professor of Regional + City Planning, recently published an article titled, “Food Waste, Preference, and Cost: Perceived Barriers and Self-Reported Food Service Best Practices in Family Child Care Homes” in the journal Childhood Obesity. This publication is part of Dr. Lowery’s work with a team at the University of Oklahoma Health and Sciences Center.
Duy Nguyen, a Regional + City Planning student, recently published an op-ed in The Oklahoman titled “It takes a community to provide resources to homeless Oklahomans.” Written as part of Dr. C. Aujean Lee’s course “Planning with Diverse Communities,” the op-ed explores how different Oklahoma City institutions can help provide resources to the homeless.
Regional + City Planning students from “Community Development and Revitalization” with Dr. John Harris and “Planning with Diverse Communities” with Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently presented to the Tulsa Planning Office and Riverwood Neighborhood stakeholders about community engagement techniques.
Urban Design students, Roshita Taylor, Soujanya Malla, and Jeremy Banes, shared their designs for Sweeney Switch in downtown Harrah, Oklahoma during the town’s St. Patrick Day celebration.
Since 2019, the OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC), part of Gibbs College, has been helping to bring a very special event to Oklahoma City. All of this work is paying off, as the 2022 Congress on New Urbanism will take place in OKC from March 23-26, 2022.
Christopher Bodzioch, a Regional + City Planning student, recently published a column in The Oklahoman titled “For Oklahoma marijuana industry to keep growing, illegal activity must be stopped.” He wrote this piece as part of an assignment for the Regional + City Planning course “Planning with Diverse Communities” with Dr. C. Aujean Lee as well as the course “Herban Planning: Planning and Policies for Medical Marijuana” with Dr. Bryce Lowery.
Rebecca LaVictoire, a Regional + City Planning student, was recently awarded the 2021 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion scholarship from the Women and Planning Division of the American Planning Association.
Giselle Walker, an Architecture student, recently published a column in The Oklahoman about streetlights and public safety in Oklahoma City.
The Gibbs Design Activism Awards (GDAA) is a new grant initiative that supports student-led design and research projects that critically engage topics of community, social, and economic concern within the built environment—at Gibbs College, on the University of Oklahoma (OU) Campus, and across Oklahoma.
Regional and City Planning Student, Daniil Solovev was one of several members of the OU community who were recently interviewed by the OU Daily about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing crisis.
Ralph Ochsner earned his Bachelors in Sociology and Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of Oklahoma. He is also a member of the Board of Visitors for both the Regional and City Planning program and the College of Architecture. He is also a Charter Member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Communities are so much more than just places in which people live. The term “sense of place” is commonly used to describe the emotive bonds and attachments people develop or experience in particular locations and environments, or to describe the distinctiveness or unique character of localities and regions. This understanding inspires the origins of many community-based organizations seeking to help support communities with various needs. These organizations typically attract passionate go-getters who wish to help improve the spaces they and others like them came from. Count the Institute of Quality Communities at the Gibbs College of Architecture and its associate director, Vanessa Morrison, among those go-getters.
Michael Southard, a Regional + City Planning alumni and current member of the RCPL Professional Advisory Board, has just been inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)! Being elevated to the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows is the highest honor the AICP bestows upon a member.
L. Quincy Jackson was the first African American architect to open an office in the state of Oklahoma. Born in Wewoka, Oklahoma in 1926, Jackson would earn his Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Kansas. He then opened an architecture office in Oklahoma in 1950. In 1952, he enrolled in the University of Oklahoma where he studied Urban Planning under Bruce Goff in order to earn his Master’s Degree in Planning in 1954.
Daniela Kosnacova, an Environmental Sustainability undergraduate student who is also pursuing an accelerated Master’s in Regional + City Planning, has been awarded the WTS Oklahoma Molitoris Leadership Scholarship.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is excited to announce our Spring 2022 Lecture Series! This lecture series was made possible with support from the Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture. Check back soon for updated information.
Regional + City Planning PhD student Pamela Skraastad-Jurney, GISP recently passed the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) exam. The AICP provides the only nationwide, independent verification of planners’ qualifications. This certification demonstrates expertise in the planning field and a commitment to professional ethics.
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an associate professor with the Division of Regional + City Planning, is currently working with a team from the OU Health Sciences Center to develop research proposals concerning the future of public policy surrounding medical marijuana in the state of Oklahoma.
Taylor Johnson, a Regional + City Planning alumnus, was recently recognized by Mass Transit magazine as one of their 2021 40 Under 40!
Dr. Bryce Lowery, an associate professor with the Regional + City Planning Division, recently delivered the keynote address at the annual meeting of the Tulsa Food Security Council.
GCA Communications intern Kali Curtis spoke with Matthew Crownover, a Landscape Architecture alumnus here at Gibbs! We sat down with Crownover to learn about how the use of technology and design methods have changed since he graduated.
Regional + City Planning professors Dr. C. Aujean Lee and Dr. John C. Harris, and graduate student Joseph Laws have published a report titled “A Local Nonprofit’s Role in Community Development,” which summarizes findings on a year-long research project to understand the opportunities and constraints of delivering community development services through a nonprofit.
RCPL faculty member Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently gave a presentation titled “Moving from aspiration to action: Reorienting planners’ values towards equity diversity and inclusion” for the American Planning Association (APA) Urban Design and Preservation Division. The APA Urban Design and Preservation Division is a nationwide community of professionals dedicated to supporting educational and networking opportunities for planners, urban designers, preservationists, and allied professionals.
Dr. C. Aujean Lee and Dr. John C. Harris, professors of Regional + City Planning, recently organized and moderated a roundtable at the 2021 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Conference. The roundtable, titled “Whiteness and Urban Planning: Uncovering what is Unspoken, Assumed, and Missing,” addressed whiteness and white supremacy in planning scholarship, teaching, and pedagogy.
On October 25, 2021, OU Regional and City Planning, the OU Center for Peace and Development, Security in Context and the OU Center for Social Justice hosted Dr. Miriam Solis of the University of Texas at Austin for the talk “Sewers & Social Justice: Racial Equity & Climate Change Implications of Wastewater Planning in the United States.”
Dr. Laura Harjo, associate professor of Native American Studies and an affiliate faculty member of Regional and City Planning, was recently elected as President of the Faculty Women’s Interest Group within the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).
The University of Oklahoma Carceral Studies Consortium is pleased to host a special screening of Grey Matter: A Documentary Exploring Female Incarceration in Oklahoma, followed by a panel discussion and special reading of poetry and essays written by people incarcerated in Oklahoma.
OU now offers a Community Engagement Graduate Certificate for students across all campuses, designed to complement any graduate or professional degree, especially for those interested in community-focused work. The four-course program helps students build practical skills and apply them through hands-on partnerships to make a meaningful impact in their communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Dr. Laura Harjo, associate professor of Native American Studies and an affiliate faculty member in Gibbs’ Division of Regional + City Planning, as her book Spiral to the Stars: Mvskoke Tools of Futurity has been awarded the 2021 On the Brinck Book Award!
Ethan Mazzio, an OU Regional and City Planning student, delivered opening remarks at the debut of Food Odes, a temporary art installation highlighting food insecurity worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. His remarks emphasized the growing need in Oklahoma City and called on community leaders and residents to take structured, collective action to address food insecurity.
Dr. Bryce Lowery co-authored three studies examining how access to food and green space affects early child care settings in Oklahoma. The research found that these environments can help support children’s nutrition and activity, even in underserved areas.
Join the Division of Regional and City Planning for their 2021 Planning Office tour on Friday, September 24th from 12-2pm. The tour will be on Zoom. Attendees will be able to chat with organizations involved in planning in Oklahoma, meet planning professionals, and learn about the diversity of planning and planning organizations.
Vernon Dee Martin was born in 1942 in Cushing, Oklahoma to John Vernon and Julia Anderson Martin. He peacefully passed away on June 12, 2021, in the company of his wife and children. He grew up in Chickasha, Oklahoma and would earn his Bachelors of Business from Oklahoma State University in 1965 and his Master of Regional and City Planning from the University of Oklahoma in 1967. He would then go on to become one of the nation’s premier regional planners.
In 2020, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) reached out to the University of Oklahoma’s Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) to ask for assistance with their Community Economic Resiliency Initiative (CERI). The Initiative was developed to help local governments respond to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three Oklahoma communities were selected to receive urban planning services from the IQC. These services would emphasize community identity and placemaking.
Kevin Hegerberg was recently hired by the City of Newcastle. His position will include working on planning and zoning review, plat and subdivision review, building permits, long-range and current planning, infrastructure improvement, and GIS analysis.
Regional + City Planning assistant professor C. Aujean Lee co-authored an article in Sustainable Cities and Society titled “Exploring the nexus between social vulnerability, built environment, and the prevalence of COVID-19: A case study of Chicago.”
Cameron Conyers is a 2019 graduate of the Regional and City Planning program here at Gibbs! Today, he works as an Associate Planner in the Current Planning and Urban Design Division in the City of Oklahoma City Planning Department. We talked to Cameron to learn about what he is up to after college and why he chose the field of planning.
Taylor Johnson is a 2017 graduate of the Regional and City Planning program here at Gibbs! Today, he is the Transit and Parking Program Manager for the City of Norman. We talked to Taylor to learn about what he is up to after college and why he chose the field of planning.
Cameron Brewer is a 2019 graduate of the Regional and City Planning program here at Gibbs! Today, he works in the field of community banking. We talked to Cameron to learn about what he is up to after college and why he chose the field of planning.
Dr. Aujean Lee, assistant professor of Regional and City Planning, is one of six authors involved in a recently published practitioner diversity climate survey project called “Survey Says: Planners Share Insights on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” Read more about the project and collaborators at the American Planning Association website.
Students Devon Westbrook and Marshall Berry recently had op-eds published in the Daily Ardmoreite and Tulsa World. The students wrote about electric vehicles and issues around school choice.
On April 19, 2021, RCPL assistant professor C. Aujean Lee presented her research to the West Virginia University Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Her presentation, entitled “A Racism Typology and Government Responses to Anti-Asian Discrimination and Incidents,” shared research findings on her study with John C. Arroyo (University of Oregon) about state and local government statements on anti-Asian hate crimes in early 2020.
Regional + City Planning Assistant Professor C. Aujean Lee was interviewed by an OU Daily journalist about anti-Asian American discrimination on campus.
This year, over 50 Sooners, family and friends were part of something BIG when they united for our fourth annual #OUGivingDay in support of Gibbs College on April 13, 2021. As a result, we raised over $17,000 for the Nick Harm Memorial Travel Study Scholarship.
Regional and City Planning graduate student Daisy Muñoz was recently honored with a University of Oklahoma “Voices of Inclusion” Advocacy Award. She received the award during a ceremony on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
Regional and City Planning graduate student Georgex Tafoya recently shared his favorite childhood memory of as part of the 2021 Latinx in Architecture San Francisco (LiASF) workshop, “Exploring our Latinidad,” led by James Rojas of Place It!
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is determined in its commitment to educate Gibbs College students through out-of-classroom learning experiences. This year, Gibbs College is dedicating Giving Day in memory of a very special advocate for travel study, the late Professor Nick Harm, who passed away in May 2020.
Assistant professor of Regional + City Planning C. Aujean Lee & RCPL affiliate faculty member Laura Harjo are guest editors for an upcoming special issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association entitled “Anti-Racist Futures: Disrupting Racist Planning Practices in Workplaces, Institutions, and Communities.”
With coauthors Dr. Nina M. Flores and Laureen D. Hom, Regional + City Planning assistant professor C. Aujean Lee published one of the first pieces in the field of planning on Asian Americans, their racialization, and lessons for planning. The article appears in the Journal of Planning Education and Research.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities is launching a Community Engagement Fellowship in partnership with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments for the 2021–22 year. The program will select three fellows to lead community-based planning and placemaking projects, with staff and financial support.
Several Regional + City Planning students have secured new jobs and internships with organizations across central Oklahoma. RCPL graduates continue to demonstrate strong career outcomes, with over 90% achieving job placement within six months of graduation.
Gibbs College will host a virtual Brown Bag Seminar panel highlighting the experiences of immigrant architects working across the U.S. Panelists will discuss cultural and professional challenges, discrimination, firm leadership, and community involvement.
Spiral to the Stars by Laura Harjo won the 2020 Beatrice Medicine Award for Best Published Monograph, recognizing outstanding scholarship in Indigenous studies. Harjo, a Mvskoke scholar and OU faculty member, is honored for her work advancing Indigenous planning, community knowledge, and futurity.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to host Madison Swayne, former brownfields remediation consultant and Assistant Professor at San Diego State University, will describe the history and distribution of Brownfield sites in the United States. Swayne will also discuss best practices for the evaluation and cleanup of Brownfield sites along with opportunities for funding such actions.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to host R. Steven Lewis, FAIA, NOMAC, LEED AP, during the Spring 2021 semester to lecture and participate in a design studio. During his visit, he will offer an online lecture entitled “Architecture in the Age of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI).”
John C. Harris has been named director of the Regional and City Planning Division at the University of Oklahoma’s Gibbs College of Architecture, succeeding Charles “Charlie” Warnken. An award-winning scholar and community-engaged leader, Harris brings national recognition, global research experience, and a strong record of collaboration to guide the program’s next chapter.
Despite having to cancel the 2021 Charles W. Graham Travel Study Benefit Dinner due to the pandemic, Gibbs College is determined in its commitment to educating our students through out-of-classroom learning experiences. This year, we ask for your help in honoring a very special advocate for travel study, the late Professor Nick Harm, who passed away in May 2020.
The Carceral Studies Consortium is pleased to announce recipients of its inaugural micro-grants.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to host Billy Fleming, Wilks Family Director of the Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design. His lecture, entitled “Design and the Green New Deal,” will take place on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, via Zoom from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has named University of Oklahoma alumnus Henry Hepburn a Fellow in its 2021 class. This accomplishment recognizes the contributions of architects to their communities and the profession.
The Spring 2021 Latin American Architecture and Urban Development Systems seminar, under the direction of Herb Green Teaching Fellow René Peralta, invites the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture community to attend its series of distinguished guest lectures.
Five research teams at the University of Oklahoma will receive internal funding to support innovative research projects. The awards are for the OU Big Idea Challenge, an initiative launched by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships to support the development of transdisciplinary research projects with significant potential for future extramural funding and that address global grand challenges. Gibbs College of Architecture faculty are represented on two of the five research teams.
The Carceral Studies Consortium announces a $250 student work prize for Spring 2021. Students may submit an original essay or creative work created as part of any course in any discipline during the 2020-2021 academic year that deals with the topic of Carceral Studies, broadly conceived.
Building on the 2019 Urban Land Institute NE OKC Food Security Symposium, the “Food Security in NE OKC: Continuing the Conversation” event will reunite local and national experts in food systems and community development to discuss the changing nature of food security in Northeast Oklahoma City.
In June 2020, Gibbs College distributed a survey entitled “Taking Action to Create a More Equitable Community.” The summary findings from this survey were emailed to students on January 25th, and all students are invited to share their feedback during a Zoom Town Hall on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021, from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Associate professor of Regional + City Planning Dr. Bryce Lowery was recently interviewed by NonDoc about food security in northeast Oklahoma City.
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GCA Communications intern, Haley Sandell (H) recently spoke with Jessica Langsdon (J), a Regional & City Planning (RCPL) graduate student! Jessica shares information about her journey to OU and the RCPL program with us and talks about her recent projects and accomplishments!
The University of Oklahoma is pleased to host “Understanding Inequity, Advancing Equity,” a free, two-day, virtual symposium from 3:30 – 6 p.m. CST Dec. 7 and 8. Registration is required.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell, sat down with Madison Hughes, a graduate Regional & City Planning student. Madison has a background in graphic design but a love and passion for growth and the difference she can make in the RCPL program at Gibbs!
Vanessa Morrison has been named the Associate Director of the Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) at the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture. Vanessa is an award-winning planner and community development professional who is dedicated to empowering her community.
The Center for Peace and Development at the University of Oklahoma has received a $175,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York to support the center’s research mission and collaborative activities.
During the Christopher C. Gibbs 2020 Scholarship Recognition Ceremony, held on Friday, September 25, 2020, more than 140 students from all seven disciplines were honored with $238,000 in scholarships made possible by generous donations from Gibbs College alumni, corporate donors, and others. The 2020 Scholarship Recognition Ceremony saw a record-breaking number of scholarships awarded by Gibbs College.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell, sat down with Regional & City Planning graduate student, Daisy Muñoz to discuss her journey and how it led her to Gibbs!
Drs. K. Meghan Wieters and C. Aujean Lee, faculty in the University of Oklahoma Regional and City Planning Program, have been invited to serve as conference track chairs for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) annual conference, with the approval of the ACSP executive committee.
Student, faculty and staff safety has been a hot topic of discussion and is of the utmost importance to the University of Oklahoma and the Gibbs College of Architecture. To help address these concerns, we recently spoke with Gibbs College program directors to find out what adjustments being made to their programs to ensure student, faculty and staff safety, while supporting learning outcomes. Here, Director of Regional and City Planning Charles Warnken shares responses to some frequently asked questions.
The library located in Gould Hall, home to the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has been adding to its collection!
Gibbs College Regional and City Planning alumnae and affiliate faculty members Vanessa Morrison and Gina Sofola have been instrumental in creating the Oklahoma City chapter of BlackSpace, an organization committed to bringing Black voices and concerns into urban development and community planning. Both inspiring professionals were recently featured by Fast Company, a media outlet known for its focus on progressive business leaders and businesses that change the world.
GCA assistant to the directors Camille Germany sat down with Michael Southard, a Gibbs alumnus! Michael talked about his job and why he chose Regional +City Planning.
Students in the Regional and City Planning (RCPL) course entitled “Planning with Diverse Communities,” recently collected more than 800 signatures from people who pledged to fill out the 2020 Census. Due to COVID-19, individuals have until September 30, 2020 to fill out their Census and help to get an accurate count of Norman and the Oklahoma region.
Gibbs College faculty Deborah Richards, assistant professor of Architecture, and Vanessa Morrison, affiliate faculty in Regional and City Planning, have partnered with Dr. Andrea Benjamin from the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies to propose a think tank to address the implicit bias and racial inequality pervasive in classrooms.
Gibbs College of Architecture communications intern, Haley Sandell (H), sat down with Kimi Diedrich (K), graduate Regional & City Planning student, to talk about her journey to the RCPL program and her passion for planning, especially in marginalized communities.
Gibbs College of Architecture assistant professor Dr. C. Aujean Lee recently received a grant from the University of Oklahoma’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships (VPRP) to fund the project “Systemic Racial and Gender Disparities in the Academic Research Enterprise and Hiring Networks in an Applied Field: A Case Study of Urban Planning.”
Building on the conversations about the future of design pedagogy that were started during the March 2020 “Schools of Thought” conference, the Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma is hosting a series of webinar conversations that explore how to adapt to our changing world, or better yet, how to rebuild it as a better world.
RCPL Assistant Professor C. Aujean Lee coauthored a study in the Journal of the American Planning Association examining the experiences of African American and Latinx planning students. Based on a national survey and interviews, the research identifies disparities in experiences of bias and offers recommendations to create more inclusive and supportive planning programs.
The Gibbs College of Architecture hosted a webinar exploring how the arts and humanities can shape public health responses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists discussed how cultural forces influence behavior and how creative fields can translate scientific knowledge into meaningful social change.
The University of Oklahoma Carceral Studies Consortium Newsletter highlights research and engagement on punishment, surveillance, incarceration, and related systems. It invites faculty, students, community members, and practitioners to share feedback and contribute ideas.
University of Oklahoma Regional & City Planning assistant professor Dr. C. Aujean Lee partnered with Dr. John Arroyo to study how government COVID-19 messaging addressed race. Their research found that agencies largely ignored racial disparities or used color-blind language, highlighting the need for planning practices that openly address inequities to support more equitable cities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma hosted a summer webinar series expanding on its “Schools of Thought” conference to examine how design education can respond to protest and pandemic. The June 25, 2020 session, “Public Space in a Time of Protest & Pandemic,” featured practitioners and educators discussing public engagement, sustainable development, and the future of public space.
The OU Carceral Studies Consortium issued a statement condemning racial supremacy and honoring the legacy of Juneteenth while calling for continued action against systemic racism and state violence. The Consortium invites the community to join a reading group on race, policing, and activism to promote education, engagement, and collective learning.
Regional and City Planning professors C. Aujean Lee and John Harris received an OU Faculty Investment Program grant for a project titled “Outsourcing Community Development and Advocacy?: A Case Study of Neighborhood Alliance of Central Oklahoma.” The study examines how neighborhood planning led by a nonprofit rather than a city department may shape opportunities, constraints, and outcomes for resident empowerment.
The Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma hosted the “Schools of Thought” Summer Webinar Series to explore how design education can adapt during times of change. The series featured discussions on equity, public health, online teaching, and resilient buildings, with recordings and notes available for each session.
Regional + City Planning Master’s student Daisy Munoz was appointed as Ward 6’s representative to the MAPS 4 Advisory Board by the City of Oklahoma City Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Members of the council will serve terms of up to 3 years.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture celebrated its graduating seniors in a virtual convocation ceremony on Friday, May 8, 2020, at 7:00 pm. Read on for links to the ceremony video, convocation program, and highlights from the event.
GCA communications intern, Haley Sandell sat down with senior Geography and Regional & City Planning graduate student, Erin Stanley to talk about her experiences at Gibbs, juggling a bachelor’s and master’s degree simultaneously, and what she is looking forward to in her final year of school!
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