OU’s Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the appointment of three new faculty members in its Divisions of Architecture and Interior Design in the Fall 2023 term. Gibbs College is grateful to the many search committee members and others around campus who made this process a success! Read on to learn more about our new teaching fellows.
These fellowships pay tribute to the contributions of OU alumni Herb Greene, Violeta Autumn, and Robert L. Wesley. Through these fellowship opportunities, we aspire to provide growth and development opportunities to today’s emerging designers and scholars. Each fellow will join OU for a two-year term, during which they will teach three courses per academic year. They will also develop a creative project or research agenda to be shared with the OU community through a public lecture or exhibition.
Terri Bullard.
Terri Bullard is a designer, educator and researcher that was born and raised in The Bahamas. Over the past eight years, Bullard has explored diverse issues of social and environmental justice through a transdisciplinary lens, with a goal of promoting new, community-centered systems that build participatory power. Bullard’s current work explores the pervasive effects of neoliberal urbanism on cultural infrastructure and its resulting impacts on heritage in the historic city of Nassau, The Bahamas. Bullard holds a Master of Science in Architectural Research and Design from the Tulane School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.
Herb Greene (b. 1929) was drawn to the University of Oklahoma by the promise of studying architecture with Bruce Goff. Greene left Syracuse University destined for Oklahoma in 1948, where he quickly emerged as one of the most talented designers. Goff, however, did not encourage imitation by his students; rather he challenged each student to develop their own unique identity as designers. Greene embraced this philosophy and developed his own radially creative approach to design evident in projects such as his 1961 Prairie House. Greene also emerged as a gifted teacher known for being able to coax the very best work out of his own students. After graduating and spending time in practice, Greene returned to OU in 1957 to join the faculty. A generation of inspired architects were fortunate to have Greene as their teacher and mentor.
Amber Sarmiento.
Amber Sarmiento is an educator and designer whose expertise lies in the intersections between sociology and architecture. Her professional experience has been centered around resilient school designs. Sarmiento’s teaching focuses on helping students learn to trust their own observations and recognize their ability to actively shape our world. Sarmiento earned a Master of Architecture from the University of Oklahoma. She holds a Bachelor of Sciences in Environmental Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.
Violeta Autumn nee Eidelman (1930-2012) was born in Peru. Autumn studied architecture with Bruce Goff at the University of Oklahoma, where she embraced an organic approach to design. Autumn practiced architecture and served as a community leader in the San Francisco Bay Area. She partnered with fellow Oklahoma architecture graduate John Marsh Davis to found the award-winning firm Davis-Autumn & Associates. She designed her own home in Sausalito, California, which was featured in Progressive Architecture magazine and Look magazine. Autumn served her local community in many capacities including on the Planning Commission and as a City Councilwoman. She was also an artist and cookbook author.
Christopher Loofs.
Christopher Loofs is a designer, educator and photographer whose work is informed by research-based practices. Loofs’ recent projects focus on exploring issues related to environmental justice and toxicity in building materials, representations of disability in the built environment, planning for rising sea levels in northern New Jersey, and the potential of games and play in design education. Loofs holds a Master of Architecture from the Princeton University School of Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Design, with a minor in Sustainable Architecture and Planning from Texas A&M University.
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Robert L. Wesley received his Bachelor of Architecture (1962) and Master of Architecture (1963) from the University of Oklahoma, where he was the second Black graduate of the OU architecture program. Wesley joined the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became its first Black partner in 1984. During his nearly four decades with the Chicago office of SOM, he worked on an impressive range of civic, educational, commercial, master planning and infrastructure projects located in the US and internationally, including Algeria, Australia, Canada, Mexico and the UK. Among his major urban Chicago projects, Wesley worked on included The Art Institute of Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago Symphony Hall, Chicago Lyric Opera House, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Chicago Lakefront Millennium Park, O’Hare International Airport and Collateral Land Planning, Chicago Transit Authority and the Chicago International Entertainment District.
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.
Gibbs Construction Science and Architecture students recently traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to compete in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 8 Student Competition. The team partnered with Czech Technical University and secured third place in the Design-Build category.
Gibbs College is pleased to present the exhibition Vollendorf in Oklahoma: The Architecture of Dean Bryant Vollendorf during the Spring 2026 semester. It will be on display in Gould Hall, on the OU-Norman Campus, from February 16, 2026 - March 13, 2026.
