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 (CDC).
The team worked to identify how the availability of stores that accept Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) payments, authorized by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP), changed with long-standing patterns of food insecurity during the pandemic. SNAP is a federal program that provides food-purchasing assistance to individuals and families in low-income communities. Many people receive this assistance through the EBT system, which allows state welfare departments to issue benefits electronically.
Through their research, the team discovered that the loss of EBT stores had a stronger impact on food access for residents in low-income communities than in communities that face fewer financial hardships. Read the full publication.
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.
