Congratulations to the OU faculty and alumna recently selected to receive American Institute of Architects (AIA) Oklahoma Honor Awards! The awards will be formally presented at the 2018 AIA Conference on Architecture on Nov. 9.
Urban Design Director Shawn Schaefer won the 2018 AIA Oklahoma Community Service Award. Schaefer has “been relentless in uniting his students’ enthusiasm for engaging real-world projects with diverse communities who benefit from the UDS program’s unique focus on participatory design,” notes Hans E. Butzer, the Dean of the Gibbs College of Architecture. Schaefer’s work has made real, lasting impacts on the City of Tulsa and the State of Oklahoma as a whole.
Architecture Professor Marjorie Callahan won the 2018 AIA Oklahoma Outstanding Educational Contributions Award. Callahan, among other professional accomplishments, has earned four Diplomacy Lab partnerships through the U.S. Department of State. She is tirelessly devoted to student success and has a “selfless approach to saying ‘yes’ ” shares Dean Butzer.
Alumna Beth Windel of SDG Architects earned the 2018 AIA Oklahoma Young Professional Achievement Award. Windel graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.Arch degree in 2003 and established SDG Architects in 2009. In 2015, Windel became the first female architect appointed to the Oklahoma Board of Licensed Architects, Landscape Architects, and Registered Interior Designers. Windel also serves on the Professional Advisory Board at the Gibbs College of Architecture and has helped raise over $75,000 in support of student travel study programs.
Featured Image: from left to right, Shawn Schaefer, Marjorie Callahan, and Beth Windel
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture announces John Harris as Associate Dean for Research ad interim, effective Aug. 25, 2026, until the permanent position is filled.
Gibbs College is pleased to announce the 2026 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. These individuals were recognized by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting and will be honored during the Celebration Banquet in October. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
Telesis, the Gibbs College of Architecture’s student journal, has been awarded a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts to support its next two issues, “Pause” (Volume IX) and “React” (Volume X).
