Planning, Design + Construction Ph.D. student Salma Akter Surma and Interior Design faculty Dr. Suchismita Bhattacharjee were recently awarded funding as a part of Gibb’s College of Architecture’s Program for Research Enhancement. This merit-based program grants Gibb’s faculty members funds to increase their research and creative activities.
Akter and Bhattacharjee received this grant to pursue research on refugee children’s well-being in a public library context. The research will broadly explore how libraries can improve their facilities by offering human and socio-economic resources that encourage acculturation and thinking beyond the book.
Public libraries are a primary source of human capital, knowledge-sharing programs, and many other important resources that are vital for literacy enhancement. However, most of these resources are not catered to the needs of refugees and immigrant groups, resulting in socio-economic isolation. According to Akter and Bhattacharjee, public libraries need to scale up their services to meet the growing needs of these minority groups.
Akter and Bhattacharjee will investigate current library environments and their impact on children’s spatial, physical, cultural, and skill development. The goal of this research is to develop a design framework that focuses on safe play and culture-respective learning spaces that encourage, empower and advance refugee children’s learning habits and enthusiasm.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
