Students Now

The Latest News and Achievements from UTA Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs Students.

LATEST NEWS

Learn about various student projects and how they have impacted the community around the college, the metroplex, and the globe. We are proud to share the work of our students to highlight their achievements while inspiring others.

To submit news items, please contact [email protected] 

Archived Accolades

2019

Amruta Sakalker, UPPP Ph.D. student, is a recipient of a 2019 Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) DFW Chapter Monique Pegues Graduate Leadership Scholarship. Amruta was selected based on her commitment and work efforts to STEM studies and her outstanding academic achievements.


Behnoud Aghapour, Master of Landscape Architecture student, received a Design Honor Award from Texas ASLA. The project is awarded based on the quality of design, context, environmental sensitivity and sustainability, and design value to the client and to other designers.


Two of our doctoral May graduates are affiliated with the military. Earnest Lloyd (UPPP), active reservist in the US Army Civil Affairs branch retiring this October and Jason Flake (PAPP), veteran of the Air Force. We thank them for their service.


Ahoura Zandiatashbar, UPPP doctoral student and Research Associate at CTEDD, was featured in a UTA graduate profile video.


Ahoura Zandiatashbar, UPPP doctoral student and Research Associate at CTEDD, accepted an offer package from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and will be joining them as a Geospatial Data Scientist and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in summer of 2019. He also has six publications in the top 5 planning journals including JPER, Cities, and Urban Studies.


Bachelor of Interior Design student, Marisol Houty, received a $2,000 award Network of Executive Women in Hospitality Scholarship (NEWH), for the 2019-2020 academic year.


Master of Architecture student, Tuan Nguyen, received a Student Design Award from the 2018 AIA Dallas Design Awards.


A paper authored by UPPP students Tahereh Granpayehvaghei, Ahmad Bonakdar, Ahoura Zandiatashbar and assistant professor of planning Shima Hamidi, has been published:The Quest for Creative Industries: A Multilevel National Study of the Impacts of Urban Form on the Geography of Creative Industries", Transportation Research Record. Their research focused on the relationship between creative industries and the regional economic development.


Master of Architecture students, Liliana Morales, Claudia Delgado, and Arabel Cutillar, received two of the Jury Honor Awards at the 2019 LiA PERSPECTIVAS FW juried exhibit.


Yusra Alhuraibi, Bachelor of Architecture student, was recognized on the national American Institute of Architect Students "In-Studio" feature. Read the Q & A about her college experience and the studio culture at UTA while pursuing her architecture degree.


Congratulations to our CAPPA students for winning Third, Second, AND First in the AIA Fort Worth Cottage Communities Design Competition!


Amruta Sakalker, UPPP PhD student, has received the the Wanda J. Schafer scholarship from Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) for her commitment and leadership on transportation. Qian He, UPPP PhD student, also received the Monique Pegues Graduate Leadership Scholarship for her demonstrated leadership in the transportation industry


Transit and walking amenities have a positive effect on attracting knowledge-intensive businesses, Science Trends reported in a column written by Shima Hamidi and Ahoura Zandiatashbar. Zandiatashbar is a graduate research assistant in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs. The two wrote a paper on the subject.


The city of Rhome agreed to a memorandum of understanding to hire the UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs to prepare a master plan for the city, the Wise County Messenger reported. The article quoted Alan Klein, acting director for the Institute of Urban Studies, about graduate students creating a community-based plan


Landscape architecture students ranked 2nd place in the national "2019 Better Philadelphia Challenge". The students presented an "imagined future" for the city of Kensington, PA to tackle the opioid crisis threatening the safety and integrity of surrounding neighborhoods.

  • Juan Fuentes, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Niveditha Dasa Gangadhar, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Crystal Kazakos, University of Texas at Arlington
  • Annabeth Webb, University of Texas at Arlington

The Kensington Catalyst Project is completed as part of Studio.5 Urban Landscape Studio and taught/advised by Dr. Taner R. Ozdil in the Landscape Architecture Program.


2018

UTA doctoral student in Urban UPPP student, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, was featured in the 3rd volume of the Annual Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Student Bulletin. The bulletin highlights his recent publications.


Five CAPPA students were recognized as Finalists for the 2018 AIA Dallas Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition.

  • Julio Arroyo- Student Physical Submission
  • Asher Frailey, AIAS - Student Emerging Technologies
  • Robert Oviedo - Student Physical Submission
  • Sara Joyce Williams, AIAS, CIA - Student Emerging Technologies
  • Liliana Morales- Student Physical Submission

A public reception/talk was held on November 10 forUTA Student Projects: DOWNTOWN HOTEL +”. The architectural studio at the University of Texas at Arlington has developed designs for a hotel in El Dorado adjacent to the Murphy Arts District according to El Dorado News-Times. Professor George Gintole’s graduate students explored the entire town of El Dorado in Southwest Arkansas and concluded that a hotel with a range of businesses such as a furniture showroom, a brewery, or an urban garden would enliven the urban surroundings.


Two UPPP doctoral students, Mohammed Hafiz and Nazanin Ghaffarie students, were recipients of the 2018 ACSP/POCIG Student Travel Award to present their respective papers at the 2018 ACSP Conference. Recipients of the award "must be involved in research that focuses on planning issues of pressing importance to communities of color.”


Two senior CAPPA architecture students, Ashley Foster and Rainah Adkins participated in The Sukkah Dwell in Design Competition hosted by the Texas Jewish Arts in Dallas. Foster and Adkins were selected as finalists which entailed building a life size Sukkah with a modern and artistic perspective. The students' Sukkah, "The Modern Sukkah", received the People's Choice Award from the competition.


Kapreta Johnson, a UTA doctoral student in Public Administration and Public Policy, had her proposal accepted by the 25th IAVE World Volunteer Conference. The title of her proposal is: "This, That, and Trusting Them: A look at how volunteer organizations can purposely partner with minority groups to foster trust between mainstream society and millennials of color." .She will be participating in a Forum Panel Session on "Volunteering - Inclusion and Integration", Thursday, October 18.


Aubrey Hooper, UTA doctoral student in Public administration and Public Policy, and the Dallas NAACP President has been leading the charge to thank North Texas legal and law enforcement warriors who he says are fighting for justice in turbulent times, The Dallas Morning News reported. Hooper spoke at the event, "Justice for All Brunch: Balancing the Scales of Justice," on August 11 at Lofty Spaces.


Interior design students, Veronica Sanders and Dana Shihabeddin, were awarded the 1st place title in the "Student Designers - Real or Imagined" category for the 2018 ASID Dallas Design Ovation Competition. Their project was to design for a real or imagined client which may/may not have been completed.

Lenita Dunlap, a UTA doctoral student in Public Administration and Public Policy, was honored as the May 2018 Dallas Hero for the Dallas Heroes Project. Dunlap saw a need in the community and took on the leadership position as the CEO of Heart House, a nonprofit that serves refugee and underprivileged children through after school and summer programming. Now that she has years of on-the-ground experience, she’s studying ways to drive policy and affect systemic changes.


Steven Nuñez, a Master of Landscape Architecture student, was honored as one of the six National Olmsted Scholar Finalists by the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF). The program honors students with exceptional leadership potential who are using ideas, influence, communication, and service to advance sustainable design and foster human and societal benefits. Nuñez earned the designation of 2018 University Olmsted Scholars, received a $5,000 award and joined the growing community of 634 past and present Olmsted Scholars.


Takuma Mitani, a Master of Architecture student, along with his team wasawarded a People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Phase I grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This student competition grant provided funding to showcase their research using decision analytics in green building design at the EPA’s 14th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo at the 2018 USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C. . Their exhibit, entitled "Better Buildings for Sustainability", included hands-on activities, software demonstrations, and Takuma’s own balsa wood building model.


A paper authored by Ahoura Zandatashbar and co authored by Shima Hamidi has been published:Impacts of Transit and Walking Amenities on Robust Local Knowledge Economy", Cities. The journal "Cities" has the second highest impact factor in the field of urban studies. This study is a step moving forward to evaluate the impacts of transit and walking amenities on building a robust local knowledge economy and offers several contributions to the literature.


UTA's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, the City of Arlington and Housing Channel collaborated to create a design-build project that gives students the experience of designing and building a quality single-family home while working to provide affordable housing in the city, Fox 4 News reported.

Interior design students, Veronica Sanders and Dana Shihabeddin, were awarded the 2nd place title for the 2017 International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Student Design Competition to design the new marketing and sales support office at OFS Brands Headquarters in Huntingburg, Indiana.


Ilia Yazdanpanah, a Master of Architecture student, was credited in Architect Magazine for contributing to a Progessive Architecture (P/A) award winning project while interning at NADAAA. The project called "A Cambridge Gateway" is intended as a full-service urban oasis, and a design that seeks to link the community of Kendall Square with one of its largest institutional neighbors, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).


Somayeh Moazenni, a UTA doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Policy, has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the 2017 outstanding student of the year for the UTA-based Center for Transportation, Equity, Decisions and Dollars (C-TEDD), UT Arlington and Phys.org Science News reported.


The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS) has named CAPPA Interior Design student Veronica Sanders as the 2017-2018 Transfer Student Ambassador for NISTS on behalf of UT Arlington (UTA). She is the first student to ever be selected from UTA and will be representing the university in Atlanta, Georgia on February 7-9, for the NISTS 16th Annual Conference.


Students from UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs helped the city of Mineral Wells draft a formal ethics policy, reported the Cleburne Times Review. The students presented the draft at a city council meeting this week after collaborating with Mineral Wells’ Finance Director John Moran, a UTA graduate.


2017

CAPPA PhD student Michael Gibson was honored by the Veterans National Honor Society with a Lifetime Membership, in recognition of academic excellence for maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Gibson is a second year doctoral student in the Department of Urban Planning and Public Affairs and is a student of Dr. Ard Anjomani.


On November 30, Texas Central, the private company developing the Texas bullet train, announced the winners of its Future Architects Design Competition. Two CAPPA students were among the awardees announced. Julia Green received the Station Architectural Design Prize for her Dallas Station Design. Adrian de Leon’s Dallas Station Design also received an Honorable Mention. Both are students of Professor Dustin Wheat.


The work of two CAPPA architecture graduate students, Elizabeth Hurtado and Ikram Eloualid, was featured in an installation at the Kirk Hopper Fine Art Gallery in Dallas.


Urban Planning and Public Policy student Indira Manandhar has been awarded the Diversity Scholars and Leader Award from the Association of Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), an international organization focusing on Nonprofit sector research. She presented a paper on Food Security, funded by a CAPPA seed grant, with Professor Karabi Bezboruah, PhD.
Yalcin Yildirim, a Ph.D. student in urban planning and public policy, was awarded a grant from the University Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities (UTRCLC) for his paper, "A Longitudinal Analysis: Accessibility to Transit and Housing Market Resiliency."

Zoranna Jones, a Ph.D. student in public and urban administration, and Lorin Washington, Ph.D. student in urban planning and public policy, were the recipients of 2016 APPAM Equity and Inclusion Fellowships to attend the 2016 Fall APPAM Research conference. They were among 25 students chosen among more than 100 applicants.


Kapreta Johnson, a PhD student in public and urban administration, was selected to present a poster, titled, "Reach Out and Touch: Volunteerism and its impact on society's perception of millennials of color," at the national conference for ARNOVA in Washington DC. Kapreta was also invited to participate in the Emerging Scholars Research Roundtables where participants provide constructive feedback for peer research papers.


The Shorthorn highlighted Architecture students who visited Nedderman Hall to practice perspective drawing for their Design Communications I course.


The Shorthorn featured a piece about Landscape Architecture students and Associate Professor David Hopman working on the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs Polyculture, which houses various plants native to the Metroplex, for insights on creating healthy ecosystems.


The Shorthorn published an article about members of the American Institute of Architecture Students UTA chapter who teamed up with students at Tarrant County College to make an art installation from about 3,200 food cans, which will be donated to the Tarrant Area Food Bank.


Doctoral students Priscylla Bento, Brandie L. Green, Jennifer K. Panas, and Wesley S. Parks, along with Associate Professor of Public Affairs Karabi Bezboruah, published the article, "Cross-Sector Community Revitalization: An Experiential Case Studyin the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership. This article is based on a service-learning project conducted by the PAPP 5355 Nonprofit Organizations in Public Policy class in Fall 2015.


Planning students participated in multiple events at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) conference earlier this month. Students co-presenting papers included Saad Alquhtani, Sahar Esfandyari, Mohammed Hafiz, Jinat Jahan, Golnaz Keshavarzi, Somayeh Moazzeni, Raha Pouladi, Reza Sardari and Yalcin Yildirim. Students presenting posters included Ali Adil, Golnaz Keshavarzi, Yalcin Yildirim and Ahoura Zandiatashbar. Ahoura and Associate Professor Shima Hamidi won Best Poster Award at the conference.


Ali Adil, doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Policy, is one of 21 students accepted for the 2017 PhD Workshop conducted by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP).


Lauren Barker, a Master of Public Administration student, has been named the new executive director of Cape Cod Young Professionals, the Cape Cod Times reported. Barker is currently administration manager for the city of Denton.


Kim McAuliffe, a Master of Public Administration student, was profiled in the Georgetown Community Impact Newspaper. She was appointed downtown development manager of Georgetown in May.


Ali Adil, doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Policy, wrote a blog post for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) blog titledDemocratizing Energy Systems: An Opportunity for Planners as Cities Renew Commitment to Paris Climate Accord?”.


Doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Affairs Yalcin Yildirim’s articleMeasuring Sounds with a Grid Method for Supporting the Design of Public Spaceswas accepted for publication in the upcoming issue of Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture (2-2017). This article uses Sundance Square in Fort Worth and Klyde Warren Park in Dallas as study locations of public spaces for soundscapes.


Congratulations to our 2016-17 honor society inductees at CAPPA:

Tau Sigma Delta

  • Joseph Boring
  • Jonathan Brown
  • Nathalie d’Henneze
  • Preston Kelly
  • Antonio Molina Bendeck
  • Trinh Nguyen
  • Samantha Oliphint
  • Nicholas Oliver
  • Ann Podeszwa
  • Rohan Saklecha
  • Dana Shihabeddin
  • Sarah Wheeler
  • Sara Joyce Williams

Pi Alpha Alpha

  • James Adams
  • Autumn Atta-Fynn
  • Christopher Brannan
  • Cari Dighton
  • Shelley Elliott
  • Patrick Jackson
  • Tiffany Morgan
  • Fatema Nasreen
  • Rachelle O’Neil
  • Steven Peggs
  • Kristtina Starnes

 


Interior Design Junior Veronica Sanders won second place in the "Student Designer - Residential - Real or Imagined" category at the American Society of Interior Designers Dallas Design Ovation Awards. Sanders was also awarded a scholarship by the Dallas Chapter of NEWH and will accept the $6,000 award at the organization’s celebration on May 18th. Additionally, a design Sanders created which won the Halle Berry logo design competition will be on an app along with being featured on Berry’s Hallewood fan website.


Madeline Ham-Ost, an Honors student in Architecture, has been awarded an Honors Dean Excellence Fund Scholarship to cover tuition and required materials for a one-week introductory course in gilding through the Society of Gilders, which will be holding its annual conference at UTA this June.


Three CAPPA students have been awarded Archer Fellowships to live and work in Washington DC this summer:

  • Babatunde Adeleye, MPA
  • Aabiya Baqai, MPP
  • Christie Holland, MPP & MCRP

CAPPA students won four awards in the 3D-print Architecture Design Competition hosted by the CSI Dallas Chapter:

  • 1st place: Tania Madah (MArch student)
  • 2nd place: Alfredo Fraire (BSArch student)
  • 3rd place: Luca Chudoba (BSArch student)
  • Honorable mention: Abel Verdi (BSArch student)

Architecture student Marone Abraham was one of 88 students to receive a Greenbuild scholarship. He is minoring in environmental sustainability and hopes to make buildings more energy-efficient and resilient.


Christie Holland, masters student in Public Policy and in Planning, is a Summer 2017 Archer Fellow. She has also been awarded a First Generation College Scholarship funded by the Friends of The Archer Center Trust ($1,000); an Archer Center Scholarship ($1,500); and a Travel Voucher for a Round Trip to Washington, D.C.


Doctoral student in Public and Urban Administration Lenita Dunlap’s proposalRaising Leaders: Education Through Adversity" was accepted at the National Afterschool Alliance and she presented in a workshop. She also received funding from The Dallas Foundation to attend the 1st Refugee and Trauma conference in Sydney, Australia, in March 2017, where she represented the U.S. learning about effective community development strategies and integration. Dunlap’s proposal "Fundraising with Soul" was accepted at the Association of Fundraising Professionals DFW conference to be held in May. She and a colleague will present about best practices in fundraising in adverse situations.


Myriam Igoufe, doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Policy, was recently awarded the Monique Pegues/AECOM Graduate Leadership Scholarship for her innovative transportation research. The competitive scholarship is based on the applicant's specific transportation goals, academic record and transportation-related activities or job skills.


Three projects by CAPPA Landscape Architecture students won awards from the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (Texas ASLA). The awards will be presented at the Texas ASLA Conference in Austin later this month:

  • Award of Excellence: Design Category - "Marine Creek: Ecological Restoration Connecting Community and History" by Behnoud Aghapour, Ann Mai, Ravija Munshi, and Juan Fuentes. Supervising professors: Tary Arterburn and Jessica Clements.
  • Award of Merit: Design Category - "St. Luke: Landscape of Grace" by Molly Plummer and John Watkins. Supervising professor: David Hopman.
  • Award of Merit: Analysis and Planning Category - "Lancaster Village: The Hub" by Reza Paziresh and Behnoud Aghapour. Supervising professor: Dr. Taner Ozdil.

Ahoura Zandiatashbar, doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Policy, received a Dean’s Award for Outstanding Poster Presentation at the Annual Celebration of Excellence by Students at UTA.


Miriam Igoufe, doctoral student in Urban Planning and Public Policy, is project manager on a transportation and fair housing research project that was awarded $734,430 by twenty-two cities and housing authorities. Igoufe is working on the research project with Ivonne Audirac, associate professor of planning, and faculty members from the Department of Civil Engineering and the School of Social Work. Other CAPPA students working as graduate research assistants on the project are Flora Brewer, Indira Manandhar, Eric Varela and Lorin Washington. Read the full UTA News Release about the project.


UTA is including courses on building tiny houses in its architectural programs, according to earthdaytx.org. In April, UTA students will display tiny houses they have built over several months as part of Earth Day Texas 2017. The students are led by Professors Bang Dang and Brad McCorkle.


Brandy Hensley, a student of Professor Hilda Rodriquez, was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2016 Steelcase Competition.


Dallas Morning News editorial said people should be encouraged that Aubrey Hooper, the Dallas NAACP’s new president, is willing to forge collaborative alliances to shape public policy. Hooper is a UTA PhD student in urban and public administration.


2016

The Texas Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers has recognized CAPPA interior design student Veronica Sanders as a First Place winner in its 2016 Dallas Design Ovation Awards. Sanders's entry was selected in the student design category, "Student Designer - Real or Imagined". The award was presented at the Awards Ceremony on May 5, 2016, at the Dallas Market Center. The event recognizes achievements in interior design and architecture, as well as special contributions to the Dallas area community. Almost four hundred DFW area interior designers and industry partners attended and entered their work in the prestigious competition.


Yalcin Yildirim, PhD student in urban planning and public policy, collaborated with Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, on the articleAdopting Soundscape Technology to Assess Urban Landscape Performancefor the May 2016 issue of Journal of Digital Landscape Architectural.


Myriam Igoufe, PhD student in urban planning and public policy and a researcher for the Institute of Urban Studies, received a $1,000 award by the UTA Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities to investigate the true affordability of LIHTC units when transportation costs are factored in. The Center supports projects with awards ranging from $500-$1,000 to produce research on livability-related topics such as enhancing mobility, accessibility and safety of walking, bicycling and transit modes, people with disabilities, older adults, low income populations, and commuters.


A University of Texas at Arlington student team’s design to reduce stormwater runoff that could result from future campus construction projects has won a national Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water award as part of the agency’s2015 Campus RainWorks Challenge.

The team included landscape architecture graduate students Baishakhi Biswas, Sherry Fabricant, Jacob Schwarz and Ahoura Zandiatashbar, a doctoral student in urban planning and public policy. Their winning entry in the Master Plan category was calledEco-Flow: A Water-Sensitive Placemaking Response to Climate Changeand centered on water runoff rates at sites of potential UTA student living, dining, recreation and parking facilities.


Another UTA team received honorable mention for its project submission,Innovation Park at The University of Texas at Arlington: Research and Innovation in a Changing Climate.That team included landscape architecture master’s students Layal Bitar-Ghanem, Kerry Gray-Harrison, Riza Pradhan and doctoral candidate Somayeh Moazzeni of urban planning and public policy. UTA won two of the six national awards.


Ali Aldil, PhD student of urban planning and public policy, presented the paper "From Vulnerability to Resilience: A theoretical framework for resilient energy systems based on sociotechnical and social-ecological perspectives" at the 2016 American Association of Geographers conference.


Yalcin Yildirim, PhD student in urban planning and public policy, co-presentedUrban Soundscape: Learning from the Sounds of Klyde Warren Park, Dallaswith Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, at the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture 2016 conference in Salt Lake City. Utah.


Ali Adil and Flora Brewer, PhD students in urban planning and public policy, will participate in the Makeover Montgomery 3 conference to showcase a service learning project on community development and

Ali Adil, PhD student of urban planning and public policy, is the recipient of the Krishnan and Rohini Krishnan Graduate Fellowship for academic excellence in the area of renewable energy or sustainability studies /and or policy and economic aspects of energy. The fellowship is awarded by a competitive application process through the UTA Office of Graduate Studies.


Ann Foss, PhD student in urban planning and public policy, co-authored an article published in the December 2015 issue of Environment and Planning C, an international journal that seeks to advance scholarly debates on the governance of a wide range of economic, societal and environmental issues. The article, titled "The other end of the spectrum: municipal climate change mitigation planning in the politically conservative Dallas-Fort Worth region," examines challenges of climate change planning in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Ann completed a second article based on this research for the London School of Economics US Politics and Policy blog, "Although cities often are touted as climate change policy leaders, a close look at politically conservative Texas cities finds many lagging or faltering.”


The Texas Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers recognized CAPPA Interior Design student Veronica Sanders as a First Place winner in its 2016 Dallas Design Ovation Awards. Sanders's entry was selected in the student design category, "Student Designer - Real or Imagined". Almost four hundred DFW area interior designers and industry partners attended and entered their work in the prestigious competition.


A UTA student team’s design to reduce stormwater runoff that could result from future campus construction projects has won a national Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water award as part of the agency’s 2015 Campus RainWorks Challenge. The CAPPA team included landscape architecture graduate students Baishakhi Biswas, Sherry Fabricant, Jacob Schwarz and Ahoura Zandiatashbar, a doctoral student in urban planning and public policy.


Zoranna Jones, PhD student in public and urban administration, was awarded a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. Zoranna's research examines programs that influence STEM-educated African American graduates to pursue high tech entrepreneurship.


Myriam Igoufe, PhD student in urban planning and public policy and a researcher for the Institute of Urban Studies, was awarded the "Dwight D. Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship," a program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.


CAPPA student Ana-Sofia Gonzalez was named leader of the month of the American Institute of Architecture Students. She served as AIAS UTA events coordinator in 2014-2015, vice president in 2015-2016 and president for the 2016-2017 year.


The City Influencer has named Lorin Washington one of Dallas-Fort Worth’s Most Influential College Students of 2016. The goal of the initiative is to celebrate African-American college students who are the epitome of what makes DFW such a special place in which to live, work and play. Lorin is a PhD student in the urban planning and public policy program.


The Texas Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers recognized CAPPA interior design student Veronica Sanders as a First Place winner in its 2016 Dallas Design Ovation Awards. The event recognizes achievements in interior design and architecture, as well as special contributions to the Dallas area community.


Myriam Igoufe, PhD student in urban planning and public policy and a researcher for the Institute of Urban Studies, recieved a $1,000 award by the UTA Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities to investigate the true affordability of LIHTC units when transportation costs are factored in.


Ali Adil, PhD student of urban planning and public policy, received the Krishnan and Rohini Krishnan Graduate Fellowship for academic excellence in the area of renewable energy or sustainability studies /and or policy and economic aspects of energy. The fellowship is awarded by a competitive application process through the UTA Office of Graduate Studies.

2019

Urban planners, scholars, environmental organizations, designers, water officials and elected officials converged on The University of Texas at Arlington campus last week to participate in a workshop, titled “Future Cities, Livable Futures: Toward a Sustainable Model for Urban-Watershed Systems,” Ecology Daily News reported. By using a variety of disciplinary perspectives, the NSF workshop aimed to engage and examine the complexities that make up urban-watershed systems


UTA's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs received approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to designate the Master of Architecture program as one whose curriculum is significantly anchored in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. UTA is one of just three universities in Texas to receive this designation for an architecture master’s program, Mirage News reported


Urban planners, scholars, environmental organizations, designers, water officials and elected officials will converge at UTA this month for a workshop to examine the complexities that make up urban-watershed systems, Mirage News reported. Adrian Parr, dean of the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, is the lead investigator on the National Science Foundation-funded workshop.


The online master of public administration program was ranked No. 15 nationally as the best value for that degree, according to an annual list from ValueColleges.com.


U.S. News & World Report ranked UTA among the best public affairs schools in the nation, The Caledonian-Record and NorthFulton.com reported.


UTA’s Institute of Urban Studies is studying the Fort Worth medical district’s needs and advantages, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in a story about the city’s Near Southside sector and the chances of making it a medical innovator hub.


UTA CAPPA teamed with AECOM, a global engineering, design and construction firm, to offer a new hypermobility class this semester, Dallas Innovates reported. The class includes topics like transportation, smart cities, drone delivery, the driverless car revolution, traveling at super high speeds with up-and-coming technologies like the Hyperloop and other mobility innovations


UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs will be featured in an exhibition on "Water and Human Settlements" that Dean Adrian Parr was invited to curate for the European Cultural Center, Targeted News Service reported. The exhibitions are in conjunction with the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale.


AIA Fort Worth recognized the UTA Architecture Building with it’s 25 year award for significant works in the region. The Architecture Building was designed by Pratt Box + Henderson in the early mid 80’s and deserved recognition for the following:

  • At the time of its construction was environmentally very progressive.
  • It established a new standard for subsequent campus construction and raised the bar.
  • It created the best exterior public space on campus.
  • It’s output, our graduates, influenced the architecture profession and culture in the region.


The UTA architecture program ranked No. 16 among architecture schools with 70 to 99 graduates most hired by firms in the last five years, Targeted News Service reported about a list that DesignIntelligence published.


CAPPA has been nationally ranked by DesignIntelligence as No.16 Architecture and No.12 Landscape Architecture schools with programs "Most Hired from by Firms".


OnlineMasters.com ranked UTA as the 33rd best university in the nation to attain an online master’s in public administration degree, Markets Insider and SFGate.com reported.

A UTA study of transit-oriented developments across the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area identifies the most important factors that can increase housing values near those sites, Mirage News reported. Ard Anjomani, a professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, and Saad AlQuhtani, a recent alumnus, were the authors of “Do rail transit stations affect housingvalue changes? The Dallas Fort-Worth metropolitan area case and implications” in the Journal of Transport Geography.


Jiwon Suh, assistant professor of public affairs, has been selected for UTA's inaugural ACUE Course in Effective Teaching Practices.  Suh will be a part of a group of 33 UTA faculty that will actively engage this year in building a community of practice. At the completion of the course, she will be certified as an ACUE Faculty, receiving a credential that is endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE) and signifies a commitment to excellence.
Alejandro Rodriguez, associate professor of public affairs, has been recognized by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) as an "ICMA Honorary Member". This honor recognizes individuals outside the local government profession who have contributed to the improvement of local government.
The AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture hosted an ENLACES reception to provide an opportunity for many Latino architects and designers to showcase their works. Ricardo Munoz, Adjunct Assistant Professor, received an HONORS award for his work titled, "Recover".
Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, was interviewed by the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) in their conversations with CELA series.
Kevin Sloan, assistant professor of practice in the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, spoke with Green Source DFW about rewilding, a global trend in landscape design that plans for the inclusion of native wildlife as well as native plants.
Mark Lamster, professor in practice at the UT Arlington College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, received the Texas Architect 2019 Award for Excellence in the Promotion of Architecture through the Media in Honor of John G. Flowers Hon. AIA.
Kevin Sloan, UTA professor of practice in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, wrote an op-ed piece for the Houston Chronicle about Houston being a city that could rewild itself. Sloan is a landscape architect who has advocated for rewilding, an attempt to establish equilibrium between human activity, the needs of animal species and habitat.
As social media has surpassed newspapers as a news outlet for all Americans, Richard Greene, professor in practice for the College of Architecture, Planning & Public Affairs, shared his views in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion column. Greene stressed the importance of people ages 18-29 to seek credible news sources as it shapes their understanding of issues and events. Greene is also a former Arlington mayor and served as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush.
Diane Jones Allen, UTA director of the landscape architecture program in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, has been elected to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Council of Fellows, ScienMag reported. Election to the Council of Fellows is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and is based on their works, leadership, management, knowledge and service. Jones Allen was also featured in Total Landscape Care, where she spoke about her experiences related to diversity in the field of landscaping architecture and design.
Joseph Portugal and Kay Godbey, adjunct assistant professors of public affairs, have been appointed as members to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Advisory Board on Graduate Education (ABGE).  This is a member group that meets jointly with professors of public administration for the purpose of enhancing the education of future local government management professionals. 
Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, has published an article with the National ASLA's The Field called "Reclaiming Land for Downtown Parks in Dallas". Ozdil discusses the challenges of population growth and the invaluable benefits of incorporating nature and open green space in the urban environment.
UTA was one of 20 schools to be named a finalist in the first U.S. Department of Education's Seal of Excelencia designation for impact and success in serving Latino students, The Dallas Morning News reported. UTA’s Maria Martinez-Cosio, associate vice provost for faculty affairs, said while she was disappointed that UTA didn't get recognized this year, she believed the intense review process helped local officials better see what's working and what areas need improvement. “The big takeaway for me was that we have all these pieces that we're pulling together. We are focused and engaged in looking at this data and how we're serving Latino students."
Diane Jones Allen, program director of landscape architecture and principal landscape architect at DesignJones LLC, has a case study in the ASLA Exhibition titled Smart Policies for a Changing Climate. The new exhibition showcases 20 diverse case studies that illustrate the success these recommendations can have in harnessing natural systems, reducing carbon emissions, and improving communities’ resilience to climate change. The exhibition is free and open to the public at ASLA’s Center for Landscape Architecture in Washington D.C.
Mark Lamster, associate professor of practice in the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, said Dallas’ rapid growth and renovation is coming at the expense of preserving the city’s history, in response to the fire that destroyed the historic Ambassador Hotel, Austin's KUT 90.5 FM reported. Lamster, who also serves as the architecture critic for The Dallas Morning News, wrote a piece on the topic for the paper.
Kevin Sloan, a UTA professor of architecture and Dallas-based landscape architect, said Dallas-Fort Worth could be transformed into a first-of-its-kind urban/rural hybrid through a concept known as rewilding, Green Source DFW reported. Rewilding is the practice of returning domesticated land back to a natural state to serve as an environment for both people and native wildlife.
Former architecture critic David Dillon started a conversation about Dallas architecture, and people are still talking, The Dallas Morning News reported in a story covering a panel discussion on the book The Open-Ended CityKathryn Holliday, the director of UTA’s David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture and an associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, was part of the discussion panel and edited the book, which contains Dillon’s essays
Kathryn Holliday, director of the UTA David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture and an associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, is lecturing and conducting a book signing honoring the just-released book, The Open-Ended CityEventa reported. The book is a collection of articles written by long-time Dallas Morning News architecture critic Dillon and edited by Holliday
School of Architecture Lecturer, Dustin Wheat, was featured in the May/June 2019 Texas Architect Magazine.
I.M. Pei, internationally renowned architect, died yesterday at age 102, KRLD 1080 AM reported. Kate Holliday, associate professor in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, said Pei contributed greatly to Dallas’ skyline, designing Dallas City Hall, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Hall and a couple of skyscrapers. Holliday also is the director of UTA’s David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture. Mark Lamster, CAPPA professor in practice and architecture critic for The Dallas Morning News, wrote an obituary profile on Pei for the newspaper.
The Arlington Sunrise Rotary honored UTA faculty members for the fourth year as Professors of the Year for service above self. Oswald Jenewein, a visiting assistant professor of architecture, was one of the recipients.
Kate Holliday, associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs and director of the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture at UTA, was interviewed by the Texas Standard. The interview was about her recent book release of "The Open Ended City", a compilation of David Dillon's greatest works curated and edited by Holliday.
Kevin Sloan, a professor of architecture at UTA and Dallas-based landscape architect, provided perspective on the era of cities hiring “starchitect” landscapers to transform outdoor spaces, the Dallas Observer reported. Sloan said cities discovered that images of spectacular new architectural work and landscaping could be circulated around the world to position a city as a “cultural player.”
Donald Gatzke, associate professor of architecture, provided a presentation with the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) at the School Planning & Management and College Planning & Management 2019 Summit. They presented the work of the “Educational Research Lab,” a graduate level design studio at CAPPA.
David Coursey, director of the master of public administration program, and Peggy Semingson, associate professor in the College of Education, has been awarded an Academic Partnerships Faculty Research Grant “Safety Nets: Peer Mentoring, Predictive Analytics, and using Nudge-Based Emails for Online Student Success, Personalized Learning, and Teacher Presence” for $8,900. This competitively awarded grant will fund quasi-experimental research in using peer coaches and innovative “nudging” techniques via Civitas to increase student retention, graduation rates, and general success in both MPA and literacy studies classes.
Kate Holliday, associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs and director of the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture at UTA, has assembled and published more than 60 essays by the pioneering Dallas architecture critic David Dillon in a new book, The Dallas Morning News reported. Holliday will contribute to a panel discussion on Dillon’s legacy hosted by the newspaper on May 21. Mark Lamster, UTA professor in practice and Dallas Morning News architecture critic, wrote the column. 
Diane Jones Allen, UTA’s director of the landscape architecture program in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, is one of the guests on a panel about connective parks at the Dallas Architecture Forum. The forum was on Tuesday, April 23, at the Dallas Black Dance Theater, CandysDirt.com reported.
David Coursey, associate professor of public affairs, has been elected as an officer of the UT-System Faculty Advisory Council as Secretary. During his two year term of service he will be contributing to the faculty leadership at UT System.


Mark Lamster, associate professor of practice in the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, commented on one Dallas architect's plans to save the aging Hall of State at Fair Park in an article for The Dallas Morning News. This is the first in a series of articles by Lamster as the city of Dallas wrestles with the hurdles of restoring Fair Park’s Hall of State.


Joshua Nason, associate professor of architecture, has been selected for his studio to participate in the Global Studio Exhibition at the Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU). The SBAU will be taking place in Seoul, South Korea beginning in September of 2019.


Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, has been elected as Region 3 Director for the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA). This region includes Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
The late James Pratt, whose firm, Pratt, Box and Henderson, designed the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, was profiled in a Dallas Morning News column by Mark Lamster, a professor in practice of architecture at UTA and the architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News. Pratt will be remembered in a public celebration Sunday.
Steve Quevedo, architecture associate professor, will have his drawing included in the Drawing for the Design Imaginary Exhibitional the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.
Arlington has experienced some success through its Via rideshare program, but some think the city still lacks significant mass transit, the Texarkana GazetteFutureStructure, Newsbug.info and Star-Telegram reported. Diane Allen, UTA’s director of landscape architecture, has written a book on transit deserts and insists Arlington is still one. “I think there’s definitely a need for mass transit,” Allen said. “Via is proving you need more of it. I think it’s just the beginning. I don’t think it’s the solution.” 
The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) has announced Mark Lamster's book, The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, Architect of the Modern Century, as a finalist in the Biography category for "Outstanding Books of 2018".
Texas Architect reviewed Mark Lamster’s book, The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson, Architect of the Modern Century. Lamster is a UTA professor in practice in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs and the architecture critic for The Dallas Morning News.
Kevin Sloan, UTA landscape architecture professor in practice and professional landscape architect in Dallas, was interviewed by the Texas Climate News. Sloan discussed the subject of "Rewilding", a practice of designing green space to attract wildlife and reframe cities.

2018

UTA’s Institute of Urban Studies in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs has crafted a downtown redevelopment plan for Mineral Wells that is being instituted, the Mineral Wells Index reported.


Randy and Misty Nix have outlined their downtown vision and efforts, the Mineral Wells Index reported. That vision often follows a UTA study conducted several years ago. UTA’s Institute of Urban Studies in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs crafted the plan. The Nixes have purchased many downtown Mineral Wells buildings.


Dean Adrian Parr, Professor Kevin Sloan, Assistant Professor Nick Fang, and Associate Professor Michael Zaretsky, both of civil engineering, and Meghna Tare, UTA’s chief sustainability officer, received the Regional Centres of Expertise North Texas (RCE) 2019 recognition award for its Sustainability Development Goal 15: Life on Land. This award is given annually to RCEs that have made outstanding contributions to address local sustainable development challenges in their regions. As a part of the Future Cities; Livable Futures: Towards a Sustainable Model for Urban-Watershed Systems initiative, the future of the Trinity River Watershed will be re-envisioned as a relevant model for urban watershed management and planning across the United States, says Dean Parr.


Diane Jones Allen, director of landscape architecture in the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs, and her views on increasing diversity in landscapes were named a top 10 story for February 2018 by Total Landscape Care.
Mark Lamster’s book about famous architect Philip Johnson, The Man in the Glass House, was reviewed in The New Yorker magazine. Lamster is a professor in practice in the College and the architecture critic for The Dallas Morning News. The New Yorker called the book a brisk, clear-eyed new biography of Johnson
Dallas residents got a “first look” of the Trinity River park Thursday, The Dallas Morning News reported in a Mark Lamster column. Brent Brown, a former UTA adjunct architecture professor, is the chief executive and president of the Trinity Park Conservancy, the nonprofit authority commissioned last May by the city to build the park. Lamster is the architecture critic for The Dallas Morning News and an associate professor in practice in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.
Diane Jones Allen, Program Director and Associate Professor of the Landscape Architecture Program, published an article titled: "Transit and Climate Adaptation = Transit Equity" in "Meeting of the Minds". She discusses how communities without transit accessibility are vulnerable during climate emergencies such as hurricanes and heavy rainfall, and provides recommendations on behalf of the ASLA Blue Ribbon Panel on Climate Change and Resiliency Report.

UTA is leading the way in ensuring the region’s healthy, sustainable growth toward megacity status, Dallas Innovates reported. Shima Hamidi and IUS research findings were highlighted on how Dallas is having trouble just getting to work. “More than 65 percent of Dallas’ population has access to less than 4 percent of jobs by transit,” said Hamidi.


Karabi Bezboruah, Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Stephen Mattingly, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering published their research report, Blame-The-Victim Policy Narratives and State-Level Transportation Policy Decisions in May 2018. They were assisted by Jennifer Sloan, PAPP doctoral candidate, and Saeed Ramezanpour, Civil Engineering doctoral candidate. This research was funded by the Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities at Western Michigan University. The results of the research were presented at several conferences. Here are a few:

  1. “When a Pedestrian or Bicyclist Dies, do the Media Cover it, and What do They say?” Presented at the 5th Summer Conference on Livable Communities, Transportation Research Center for Livable Communities, in Kalamazoo, MI, June 2018.
  2. Are Bicyclists and Pedestrians Victims or Villains When Struck by a Vehicle? Journal of Transport & Health, 9(S); S26-S27. Presented at the International Conference on Transport & Health, International Professional Association for Transport & Health, Mackinac Island, MI, June 2018.
  3. Victim or Villain, and Does it Matter?  The Relationship Between Policy Narratives and Policy Implementation. SeCOPA Annual Conference, Alabama, September 2018.
  4. Exploring the Influence of Media Advocacy on Policy Decisions: Nonprofits as Policy Implementing Partners. ARNOVA Annual Conference, Austin, TX, November 2018.
  5. Do Human Service Organizations Collaborate? An Exploration of Strategies Used for Informing Policy-Decisions. ARNOVA Annual Conference, Austin TX, November 2018.

The former Great National Life Insurance Co. offices on Harry Hines Boulevard at Mockingbird Lane was cited by UTA architecture professors Kate Holliday and Douglas Klahr as one on their list of "5 significant Dallas buildings to behold," The Dallas Morning News reported in a story about the building's demolition.


Dennis Chiessa, an architecture lecturer in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, told KXTX Telemundo 39 that studying to become an architect is a good job choice to make a decent wage. The Telemundo piece was about where Latino students have financial opportunities.
Associate Professor, Steve Quevedo, was the winner of the "Richard B. Ferrier Award for Best Physical Delineation" from the 2018 AIA Dallas Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition.
Former Arlington Mayor Richard Greene wrote in a Star-Telegram op-ed column that Tuesday’s election in Arlington approving term limits doesn't mean the current council is doing a poor job. Greene also is a UTA lecturer in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.


Mark Lamster, UTA professor in practice in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, explores the life of the iconic architect Philip Johnson in a Dallas Morning News column about his new book The Man in the Glass House. Lamster also is The Dallas Morning News architecture critic. D Magazine also reported on Lamster’s book and about how the collaboration between UTA and The Dallas Morning News placed the critic in North Texas.


Mark Lamster, architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News and professor in practice at UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, reviewed the Dallas Museum of Art Show, “Cult of the Machine: Precisionism and American Art” for The Dallas Morning News. The show covers the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s, when America transformed itself into a modern industrial giant.
David Coursey was elected co-chair of the UT-System Faculty Advisory Council’s Academic Affairs and Faculty Quality Committee for AY18-19. As co-chair, Dr. Coursey will be responsible for helping implement FAC recommendations for non-tenure track faculty policies, parental leave, and workload across UT-System institutions.
UTA researchers determined in a new study that subsidized housing is not affordable in the Dallas-Fort Worth region because its location does not make it transportation friendly, Health Medicine NetworkInformed InfrastructureTargeted News Service and Phys.org reported. Shima Hamidi, assistant professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, and two of her doctoral students, Jinat Jahan and Somayeh Moazzeni, published “Does Location Matter? Performance Analysis of the Affordable Housing Programs with Respect to Transportation Affordability in Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) Metropolis” in the Transportation Research Record journal.
Mark Lamster, UTA associate professor in practice in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, wrote an analysis on the importance of architect Robert Venturi for The Dallas Morning News. Venturi died this week. 
The Wall Street Journal featured research by Shima Hamidi, director of UTA’s the director Institute of Urban Studies, on the link between urban sprawl and life expectancy. Hamidi’s research found that, all other things being equal, Americans who live in compact metropolitan counties live longer on average than those who reside in more sprawling ones. Hamidi also is an assistant professor of urban planning in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.
Adrian Parr, dean of UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, was the keynote speaker at the Constructing Architectural Ecologies symposium organized by the Architectural Ecologies Lab at California College of the Arts, The Potrero View in San Francisco reported. Her presentation examined how built environments are turned into weapons of war, as with the leveling of cities like Aleppo or Gaza, and the ecological ramifications of warfare as it pertains to the built environment and sustainable design.
What makes rewilding distinct is that it defines an inventory of natural life that is worked back into the environment and practically supported, wrote Kevin Sloan, a UTA landscape architecture professor in practice and professional landscape architect in Dallas, in a column about rewilding for The Dallas Morning News. Rewilding is an approach to landscape and environmental development that is sweeping the globe.


Kathryn Holliday, UTA associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, said historic preservation of neighborhoods like Dallas' 10th Street neighborhood, a historic district south of the Trinity River founded by freed slaves after the Civil War, is a “tool for economic development,” The Texarkana Gazette reported.
Diane Jones Allen, UTA associate professor, program director of landscape architecture and principal at DesignJones LLC, was a member of advisory panel that developed a new guide on transportation launched today by the American Society of Landscape Architects, AECCafe, Fleet News Daily and many other media reported. 


Taner Özdil, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, had his peer-reviewed article published in the highly reputable Turkey Architecture Journal called, Mimarlik. The article was titled: "The Art or the Science of Urban Landscape? The Trend of Performance Research in America"(Pages 50-55)View the English summary here.


Kathryn Holliday and Kevin Sloan, professors in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, were cited in a Christian Science Monitor article about deck parks in neighborhoods divided by highways. Both commented on the planned deck park in Dallas’s Oak Cliff neighborhood, which seeks to rejuvenate this black and Latino community situated around Interstate 35.
Recently published studies show that urban sprawl reduces life expectancy of its inhabitants and doesn't attract knowledge-intensive businesses, Medicine Newsline, ScienceDailyBrightSurf, TechSite and other websites reported. Shima Hamidi, UTA assistant professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, and two directors of the National Institutes of Health did the sprawl-life expectancy study, while Hamidi teamed with Ahoura Zandiatashbar, a UTA research associate, to write about how sprawl affects attracting the knowledge economy.
The 200-acre Harold Simmons Park between the Trinity River levees is moving forward, D Magazine reported. The article mentioned Kevin Sloan, UTA assistant professor in practice in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, who has written extensively about re-wilding the river.
The American Society of Landscape Architects released its smart policies for a changing climate, Environment Guru, Landscape Architecture Magazine and Prism reported. ASLA’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Climate Change and Resilience released the list of standard development practices to help secure a more sustainable future. Diane Jones Allen, program director for landscape architecture in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, served on the panel. Allen also is a principal landscape architect with DesignJones LLC.
Richard Greene, professor in practice at UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, wrote an op-ed article in the Star-Telegram about the advantage of tax breaks for developments such as the Arlington Highlands retail development, which proved so successful the Arlington City Council terminated its tax break. Greene is a former Arlington mayor.
A Star-Telegram op-ed column explains why North Texas won’t have the same smoggy air that engulfed Los Angeles in the 1990s. Richard Greene, a UTA adjunct professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Administration and former Arlington mayor, wrote the column.
Dallas should learn how to build Trinity Park from Houston’s Buffalo Bayou, Mark Lamster wrote in a Dallas Morning News  column. Lamster is a professor in practice in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.
UTA is continuing its legacy of setting milestones of achievement across the broad spectrum of higher education, a Star-Telegram op-ed column by Richard Greene said. The column praised the University’s outcomes in terms of preparing graduates for successful careers. Greene is a former Arlington mayor and an adjunct professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.


Mark Lamster, a UTA professor and the architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News, talked about how architecture criticism has evolved to include important urban issues in The Architect’s Newspaper.
Experts say car ownership is changing and predict that before long, it will look nothing like it has for the past century, mainly because of technology, CBN News reported. Shima Hamidi, UTA assistant professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, said research shows that low-income families pay the most for car ownership because affordable housing is rarely close to public transportation.


Ivonne Audirac, an associate professor of Planning, moderated a panel event called "Smart Growth for Dallas Equitable Development & Public Space Panel" on May 17. The panel explored the issues of urban development and the effect of public space design on neighborhood vitality.
An article co authored by Shima Hamidi and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been published: “Associations between Urban Sprawl and Life Expectancy in the United States"International Journal of  Environmental Research and Public Health 2018, 15, 861. The article explains how the study investigated cross-sectional associations between sprawl and life expectancy for metropolitan counties in the United States in 2010.
CAPPA faculty honored at UTA’s Spring 2018 Faculty Awards included:

•  Dean James Grover was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Scholars for his research work as a Professor of Biology. The Academy of Distinguished Scholars fosters and advocates for the importance of research and creative activity, promotes a sense of community among scholars, and advises on research practices and policies.

•  Professor of Planning Jianling Li, was honored for serving as a mentor for junior faculty in the University-wide Faculty Mentoring Program during the 2017-18 academic year.

•  Program Director and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture Diane Allen and Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture Joowon Im received Research Enhancement Program Grants for 2018-19 for their research project “A Study of Community Engagement in the Collaborative Design Process of the Pilot Green Infrastructure Planning and Design to Promote Sustainable Development in Downtown Arlington, TX”.

Congratulations to all our faculty honorees!


Kevin Sloan, assistant professor in the School of Architecture, served on a panel at EarthX, the world’s largest environmental festival, to discuss the topic: “How Audubon is Changing the World.” Sloan impressed the idea of continuing to converge humanity and nature in Dallas — something that has already begun with the bobcats that have become fixtures throughout the city. “A couple academic units are putting radio collars on urban wildcats and tracking them going through our watershed network. We’ve built, deliberately or indeliberately, a new kind of city forum that allows civilization and wildlife to coexist", Sloan says.


Diane Allen, UTA’s associate professor in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture for CAPPA, contributed a column to American Society of Landscape Architects’ The Dirt blog on “Why Smart Urban Design May Save Us from Natural Disasters and Address Social Justice.”


David Hopman, associate professor of Landscape Architecture, was nominated by the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs and chosen to be recognized by The Arlington Sunrise Rotary Club for the “Professor of the Year” Award. This honor is given to faculty that represent “service above self,” which is the Rotary motto. Nominees from UTA will be recognized by the Arlington Sunrise Rotary on Friday, May 11th at 6:45 AM at the Rolling Hills Country Club.


Oswald Jenewein, visiting architecture assistant professor and chairperson of the college’s study abroad committee, said the Austria exchange program has increased in the last two years and has the highest participation numbers in at least 10 years. The exchange programs with students currently abroad are made possible through collaborations with the University of Innsbruck and Lund University in Sweden.
Lorena Toffer, former adjunct assistant professor in the School of Architecture, was a recognized honoree for the 2018 Hidden Figures of Dallas: Top STEM Influencers. This honor recognizes men and women in the DFW metroplex who have made advancements in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in their workplaces and/or the community.  
Larry Scarpa, principal of Brooks + Scarpa and an affordable housing expert, will be the keynote lecturer on the Physical City at the Dallas Festival of Ideas April 7, The Dallas Morning News reported in a Mark Lamster column. Lamster is the DMN's architecture critic, a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a professor-in-practice at UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs. UTA is a 2018 sponsor of the festival.
Local entities, as well as the federal government, could promote upward mobility through better transportation policies, Shima Hamidi wrote in a column for the Eno Center for Transportation. Hamidi is an Assistant Professor of Planning and director of UTA’s Institute of Urban Studies. The Eno Center for Transportation, created in 1921, seeks to promote safe mobility by ensuring traffic control and management.
Dr. Diane Allen Jones was the special guest speaker for the AIA Dallas Women in Architecture Happy Hour event at the German Kitchen Center in Dallas on March 21.
UTA professor Don Gatzke has been named a Fellow of the American Institute of Architecture. Gatzke received the honor  for "elevating architectural education by emphatically connecting architecture schools to the public and to the profession, and by helping to provide opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds," Texas Architect Magazine said.


Maria Martinez-Cosio, a UTA associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA), has been elected to the board of the The Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutes Educators, U.S. Fed News reported. 


Shima Hamidi, director of UTA's Institute of Urban Studies, was featured in a Star-Telegram article about Arlington and Fort Worth’s experiences trying to regulate bike-share companies. UTA launched an exclusive bike-share program with Zagster in August that includes 40 bikes at seven docking stations around campus.
The Dallas Observer covered Shima Hamidi's map depicting transportation inequities in Dallas. Hamidi is director of UTA’s Institute of Urban Studies and an assistant professor of urban planning in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA).


Diane Jones, program director for Landscape Architecture in UTA's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) and a principal landscape architect of DesignJones LLC, still thinks there is more that can be done to bring awareness of the landscape architecture career field to African Americans, women and other minorities, Total Landscape Care reported. Jones Allen hopes that in the future more African American students, as well as other minority students, will be exposed to the idea of landscape architecture at a young age and become inspired to pursue this career path.


Mark Lamster, professor in practice at UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, wrote a review for the Dallas Morning News of Ellsworth Kelly’s posthumous final work, which was unveiled last week on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Lamster described the building as a “genuine, real-life time machine.”


Mark Lamster, architecture critic of the Dallas Morning News and professor in practice in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, is developing a  series of interactive lectures, panels and discussions on “Gentrified Dallas: A month long Investigation into the Changing City,” The Dallas Morning News reported. The series starts March 1.
Austin architect Jamie Crawley was one of 18 recipients of the American Institute of Architects 2018 Young Architects Award, The Daily Telescope reported. Crawley previously taught in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.
Diane Jones Allen, program director for landscape architecture in UTA's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, participated in the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Blue Ribbon Panel on Climate Change and Resilience, PrismNewEdge.com, WTOC CBS 11, Business Wire in Savannah, Ga., and several other websites reported. The panel will release its recommendations this spring. The story was saluting African Americans during Black History Month.
Connections such as the Trinity River Trail are critical to the Metroplex in regards to regional connectivity for jobs and schools, said Taner Özdil, landscape architecture associate professor for the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs. The Trinity River Trail in River Legacy Park is being extended to fill in the trail’s gaps of what is expected be a 60-mile trail system through the Metroplex. Özdil said public transportation and hike and bike trails are critical to mobility in the region and the Metroplex needs to be better connected. It’s up to the cities to decide where connections end and begin, Özdil tells The Shorthorn.


The Dallas Morning News reported on UTA’s study of a potential redesign of the north entrance to Dallas Love Field. The article focused on the future of Bachman Lake. Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, is leading the Love Field study.


Karabi Bezboruah, associate professor in Public Affairs, will be an invited guest speaker for the 2018 Chautauquas Conference on Family Resilience. The conference will take place on February 23 at Oklahoma State University with this year's theme: “Resilience and the Community: How to Build Resilient Communities and How Communities Build Resilient Families." Karabi's talk title will be on "Building and Strengthening Communities: What Works? What Doesn’t?"


Kathryn Holliday, associate professor and architectural historian in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, will take part in a roundtable symposium entitled “People, Places and Politics of the City” on Monday, Feb. 5, publicnow.com reported. A senior planner for the city of Dallas and a social justice attorney will accompany Holliday on the panel.
Former Arlington Mayor Richard Greene, a UTA professor in practice in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA), was featured in the city of Arlington’s American Dream series, PublicNow.com reported.
An article in D Magazine complimented the work of the Institute of Urban Studies in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs. The story says UTA has become a center for the region’s best thinking about public transit and affordable housing thanks in large part to the work of the institute under director Shima Hamidi.

Dallas’ Kalita Humphreys Theater, an iconic work by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, needs to be restored, according to Mark Lamster, associate professor in practice in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, and architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News. In an interview with KERA 90.1 FM, Lamster said the theater has never really been properly cared for, but a new conservancy could finally be the key to saving the structure.


2017

The College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs received its largest grant to date. A University Transportation Center (UTC) grant was awarded to Dr. Shima Hamidi by the U.S. Department of Transportation and should be worth up to $7.7 million over the course of the next five years. This represents the first Lead on a University Transportation Center at UTA.


A six-page feature article in the October issue of D Magazine about the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs features Dean Nan Ellin and three CAPPA students, Myriam Igoufe, Ahoura Zandiatashbar and Lorin Washington.


As part of the relaunch of her Hallewood fan page, Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry chose a design by CAPPA Interior Design Junior Veronica Sanders to serve as the logo for the new site. Sanders’s winning design will be featured on the official Hallewood.com international fan page. She and a guest will travel to Los Angeles later this month for a few days with Halle Berry herself.


CAPPA's Kevin Sloan, Assistant Professor in Practice in the School of Architecture, has been selected by The Dallas Morning News as a volunteer columnist in its Community Voices program.


Members of the faculty from CAPPA were recognized as finalists and award winners by AIA Dallas’s 2016 Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition (KRob). In addition, a number of CAPPA students were also selected as finalists. Winners: Steve Quevedo, Thomas Rusher. Finalists: Justin Ashby, Kelly Camargo, Asher Frailey AIAS, Steve Quevedo, Dustin Wheat, Thomas Rusher.


Pat D. Taylor has been inducted as a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Until his recent retirement, Dr. Taylor served as Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at UTA for twenty-four years.


Architect Marina Tabassum was recognized with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Bait Ur Rouf mosque in Bangladesh. Tabassum served as a visiting professor at CAPPA last year.


Todd Hamilton, professor of architecture, was recognized by Builder Magazine with a 2016 Design Award for the Deloache Residence project. Professor Hamilton served the project as the architect of record. Boback Firoozbakht ('08 BS), creative director at the Dallas-based firm BDDM, served as the designer.


Ford Motor Co. honored Maria Martinez-Cosio, UTA’s associate vice provost for faculty development and associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA), with a Mujeres Legendarias Award, according to Public Now, El Comunicador de DallasU.S. Fed News, 4-Traders, Education LetterNewsRX Health and Science and Scienmag. Mujeres Legendarias, or legendary women, is a national program honoring Hispanic women who are improving their communities. She was honored for leading efforts that resulted in transformational change on the UTA campus in the critical areas of access and success for traditionally undeserved populations such as low-income, Hispanic or first-generation students.


Douglas Klahr, Associate Dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, is an architectural historian whose teaching focuses upon contemporary issues, for "history begins yesterday". Among the numerous courses that he has created regarding such issues is "Slum Housing in the Developing World", which coincided with the publication of the article upon which his TED Talk is based. Dr. Klahr's research interests examine the political and cultural contexts in which architecture is created and photographically documented. View his TED Talk HERE.
Dallas’s Kalita Humphreys Theater, an iconic work by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, needs to be restored, wrote Mark Lamster, associate professor in practice in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, and architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News. Lamster said no other building in Dallas has been as mistreated, misused or mismanaged.
Director of UTA’s Institute of Urban Studies Shima Hamidi offered analysis of her recent report on Dallas Area Rapid Transit on KERA 90.1 FM. Hamidi explained the equity challenges Dallas currently faces and explained why a new plan to optimize transportation tools that are already in place would benefit everyone.


Diane Jones Allen, director of landscape architecture in UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, provided insight to the Star-Telegram for a story about the City of Arlington’s new Via rideshare app. Allen recently authored a book about transit deserts, and she said Arlington falls into that category.
An article authored by Associate Dean Douglas Klahr has been published: “Stereoscopic Architectural Photography and Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology,” Zarch Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism 9 (December 2017), 84-105.  Zarch is a double blind, peer-reviewed journal published by the University of Zaragoza.  The article explains how the stereoscopic viewing experience, which was the precursor of virtual reality, is a manifestation of the French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of phenomenology.
Enid Arvidson, UTA associate professor of planning and public affairs, was among 200 public policy and economics professors who wrote an open letter to Congress opposing tax plans approved by both houses, according to blackstarnews.com.
A UTA study researching affordable transportation and housing in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex shows the area has a lack of both, according to KRLD 1080 AM. Shima Hamidi, director of UTA’s Institute of Urban Studies and an assistant professor of urban planning in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, said low income families across North Texas are forced to spend a disproportionate amount of their income on transportation.
A book chapter by Associate Dean Douglas Klahr has been published: “Department Stores and Their Display Windows during the Prewar Third Reich: Prevailing within a Hostile Nazi Consumer Culture,” in Architectures of Display: Department Stores and Modern Retail, edited by Anca Lasc, Patricia Lara-Betancourt, and Margaret Maile Petty (New York: Routledge, 2017).  From the introduction by the editors: “In Germany, Klahr argues, an anti-Warenhäuser (anti-department stores) sentiment had developed since the 1880s.  This reached an all-time apogee in the Nazi period, following contemporary identification of department stores with their Jewish owners.  Since they were vital to supporting the regime, large-scale retailers never were shut down, but the merchandise they sold and the displays they created were heavily regulated by the Nazi regime.  In order to prevail ‘within a hostile consumer culture’, and to differentiate themselves from small shops, Warenhäuser created elaborate tableaux in their display windows, where goods, although in tone with the ongoing political agenda, were part of a larger narrative.”


Diane Jones Allen, program director of landscape architecture, wrote a column about the evolution of transit deserts and how to achieve transit equity and mobility for Metro, a magazine for the transit and motorcoach industry.


Kate Holliday, associate professor in the School of architecture and director of the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture, wrote a review of Constructing Houston’s Future: The Architecture of Arthur Evan Jones and Lloyd Morgan Jones for Off Cite, the website of the Architecture + Design Review of Houston.


Mark Lamster, associate professor in practice of architecture and architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News, wrote a critique of Toyota’s new Plano headquarters that notes that from an architectural perspective it is lacking in inspiration. He called the new space the equivalent of a Camry – "safe, but boring."
Program Director of Landscape Architecture Diane Jones Allen’s recently published book Lost in the Transit Desert: Race, Transit Access, and Suburban Form was featured on EurekAlert! The article noted that the book says lack of access increases social inequality, and that there are solutions to reversing transit deserts in some urban centers but it could take decades of innovative planning to be successful. 
Karabi Bezboruah, associate professor of Public Affairs, along with doctoral students Priscylla Bento, Brandie L. Green, Jennifer K. Panas, and Wesley S. Parks, published the article, "Cross-Sector Community Revitalization: An Experiential Case Study” in the Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership. This article is based on a service-learning project conducted by the PAPP 5355 Nonprofit Organizations in Public Policy class in Fall 2015.
Planning faculty participated in multiple events at the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) conference earlier this month. Faculty presenting papers included Professor Ard Anjomani, Associate Professor Ivonne Audirac and Assistant Professor Shima Hamidi. Dr. Audirac and Dr. Hamidi also participated in roundtables and sessions. Dr. Hamidi and doctoral student Ahoura Zandiatashbar also won Best Poster Award at the conference.
Diane Jones Allen, program director for Landscape Architecture, spoke about her work in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward at the second Black in Design conference, The Architect’s Newspaper reported. The Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s African American Student Union organized the three-day event.
An article on the Hyperallergic forum highlighted an exhibit of photographs by Mark Lamster, associate professor in practice of architecture, Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News. The exhibit, titled The Island That Nobody Knows, features Lamster’s images of the Deer Island Wastewater Management Plant in Boston and continues through October 28 at Pinkcomma Gallery in Boston.
Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor in planning, was interviewed by WFAA ABC 8 about bike sharing initiatives in Dallas. Hamidi said that while bikes from docking stations are typically for recreation, station-less bikes could be more functional and part of a larger transportation system if planned correctly.
Dennehy Architects, with alumnus Paul Dennehy (’80 BS, Architecture), Professor Don Gatzke, and Lecturer Dennis Chiessa were selected for the Amarillo Museum of Art Biennial 600: Architecture which runs through Oct. 1. A Tandy Hills Pavilion design by alumnus Dennehy, Gatzke and Chiessa was chosen as “Best Example of New Architecture” by Fort Worth Weekly in their “Best of Culture” edition. Chiessa was also selected for ENLACES, a juried exhibition presented by AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture Network, and received an Honor Award from the jurors and a People’s Choice Award during the reception in early September.
Mark Lamster, associate professor in practice of architecture, Loeb Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News, wrote Dallas Morning News column that was a tribute to Dallas architect Frank Welch, dean of Texas modernism.
UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs assisted La Bajada Urban Youth Farm with project development and design services, WFAA ABC 8 reported. The garden aims to educate teens on sustainable food production and foster community. The La Bajada Urban Youth Farm project was developed by Professor of Architecture Don Gatzke.
Dallas Innovates reported that Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor in planning, has been nominated by Planetizen as one of the “Most Influential Urbanists” of all time. Hamidi is known for her research on topics such as urban sprawl and upward mobility. You can vote for Hamidi here.


Diane Jones Allen, program director for landscape architecture, has been selected to serve on an American Society of Landscape Architects blue ribbon panel on climate change and resilience College Planning and Management, The Buffalo News and various other media outlets reported. The panel will make public-policy recommendations for mitigating and adapting to climate change through resilient design, retrofit reported. Environment Guru and The Dirt also noted that Allen will give a lecture at the Black in Design conference, hosted by the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.


Mark Lamster, associate professor in practice of architecture and architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News, co-wrote a review in The Dallas Morning News about the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Lamster said the museum’s use of a repurposed industrial space could be a model for Dallas.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Affairs and Corinth City Manager Bob Hart was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas City Management Association. The award is given to a city manager who has significantly contributed to local government for more than 20 years. Hart’s career in city management has spanned six Texas cities: Sundown, Sweetwater, Pampa, Georgetown, Kennedale and Corinth.
Professor in Practice in Planning and Public Affairs Richard Greene, a former Arlington mayor and EPA director, wrote in a Star-Telegram opinion column that Arlington school district is proving voters made the right decision in approving the largest bond election in its history three years ago. He said new facilities and resources equal success in public education. He also said the partnership among AISD and Tarrant County College, UTA and the city of Arlington is part of the success.


Mark Lamster, architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News and a CAPPA associate professor in practice of architecture, wrote in a Dallas Morning News column that the Dallas Museum of Art should stop ignoring design in the city of Dallas. He wrote that the space dedicated to the modern and contemporary design gallery no longer exists.


Shima Hamidi, assistant professor in planning, has co-written “The Cost of Sprawl,” a book that empirically shows how badly sprawl affects health and other quality-of-life outcomes, phys.org reported.
Associate Professor of Public Affairs Rod Hissong’s article “The Role of Private Legal Representation and the Implicit Effect of Defendants’ Demographic Characteristics in Setting Bail and Obtaining Pretrial Release” has been accepted for publication in Criminal Justice Policy Review.
Interim Program Director and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture David Hopman is Co-Principal Investigator with Assistant Professor of Social Work Courtney Cronley and Associate Professor of Kinesiology Larry Nelson on “GOE! Pilot Testing a Community Gardening and Outdoor Engagement Intervention to Reduce Health Disparities among Homeless Youth” funded by IRP. 


Karabi Bezboruah, associate professor of public affairs, was invited to speak at an event sponsored by KERA, "One Crisis Away: No Place to Go,” on the housing crisis and gentrification in West Dallas on June 15.
Professor in Practice in Planning and Public Affairs Richard Greene, a former Arlington Mayor and regional administrator for the EPA, wrote in a Star-Telegram opinion column that President Trump has shown true leadership in getting the United States out of the Paris Accord, which he termed a bad deal.
Kevin Sloan, assistant professor in practice in the School of Architecture, has a commentary in the Dallas Morning News about the City of Dallas’ appearance and how it reflects the city’s values titled "What does a close look at Dallas tell us about our values and priorities?".


Joshua Nason, assistant professor of architecture, served on a jury panel for Texas A & M University’s Department of Architecture’s 2017 Celebration of Excellence, Texas A & M Today reported.
Two projects by Architecture Lecturer Bang Dang’s firm, Far + Dang, will be on the modern homes tour in Dallas.
HA Architecture, the studio in Austin where Architecture Lecturer Brad McCorkle works, has been selected for the 4th Annual Creek Show.  
Associate Professor of Public Affairs Karabi Bezboruah co-authored the article “Microcredit and development: a multi-level examination of women’s participation in microfinance institutions” with Vijay Pillai. The article was published in the April 2017 issue of the journal Development in Practice.


Karabi Bezboruah, associate professor of public affairs, was awarded the President’s Award for Transformative Online Education in honor of her outstanding achievement and many contributions to the university.
Assistant Professor Joshua Nason will receive the Service Above Self Recognition from the Arlington Sunrise Rotary, in honor of his exemplary and sustained service to the university, profession, and community.
Shima Hamidi, assistant professor in planning, will be inducted into the inaugural class of Presidential Fellows at UTA. This award recognizes ongoing scholarship and dedication to enhancing collaborative and cross-disciplinary research.

Alejandro Rodriguez, interim chair and associate professor of public affairs, and Jeff Whatley were honored for 15 years of service at UTA on April 12.


Professor in Practice in Planning and Public Affairs Richard Greene, a former Arlington Mayor, wrote a Star-Telegram op-ed about the Community Influence Leaders Roundtable, a local organization to promote racial and ethnic diversity, which now plans to reach out to UTA to expand the collaboration.


Bang Dang, lecturer in the School of Architecture, will be part of the annual Creative Conversation panel in Dallas on April 10. The panel’s theme is Art, Architecture, and Placemaking. Dallas Innovates reported on the event.
D Magazine’s Frontburner blog featured a post on a presentation by Shima Hamidi, Executive Director of the Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions and Dollars; Director of the Institute of Urban Studies; and Assistant Professor of Planning. The presentation to the Dallas City Council’s Quality of Life committee was about transportation equality. The Dallas Morning News and Dallas City News Network also featured the presentation, which noted that only 28.3 percent of affordable housing in the Dallas-Plano-Irving area is actually affordable when the cost of transportation is factored in.
In an op-ed in the Star-Telegram, Richard Greene, professor in practice in Planning and Public Affairs, cited UTA's College Park Center as an example of the direct result of the city's downtown enterprise zone in a piece about a proposed bill in the Texas Senate.


Douglas Klahr, associate dean and associate professor of Architecture, presented a paper on “The Materiality of Early Stereoscopic Photography: Silver, Glass, Tissue Paper and Cardboard” at the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Art History, held at the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome.


Ivonne Audirac, associate professor of Planning, is part of a team awarded $734,430 by twenty-two cities and housing authorities to pursue the North Texas Regional housing assessment. Other faculty on this team are from the Department of Civil Engineering and the School of Social Work. The project manager is CAPPA PhD student Myriam Igoufe and other CAPPA students working as graduate research assistants on the project are Flora Brewer, Indira Manandhar, Eric Varela and Lorin Washington. Read the full UTA News Release about the project.
In a guest column in TribTalk, Richard Greene, professor in practice in Planning and Public Affairs, said UTA is exceeding its own expectations in several spheres, including enrollment and research. Greene is a former mayor of Arlington. TribTalk is the opinion page for the online Texas Tribune.

CAPPA Dean Nan Ellin has a piece titled “How DFW could go from a bunch of strong cities to a regional powerhouse” in the Dallas Morning News. 


2016

Kevin Sloan, assistant professor in practice in the School of Architecture, has an article in the Dallas Morning News titled “DFW should embrace the Trinity River for sustainable living that is uniquely Texan”. He also has an article titled “Go with the Flow” in the current issue of D Magazine.


Kate Holliday, associate professor in the School of Architecture, has two articles in the most recent issue of Columns. One discussed disinvestment and highway construction in Dallas, and the other is a profile of Jane Landry, FAIA
A design submitted by alumnus Paul Dennehy (’80 BS, Architecture), and Professor Don Gatzke and Lecturer Dennis Chiessa of the School of Architecture, was selected as the winning entry in the Tandy Hills Pavilion Design Competition. A panel of judges, working without knowledge of the 20 submitting teams, selected the winning design.


Madan Mehta, professor in the School of Architecture, authored the recently published third edition of Building Construction: Principles, Materials, and Systems.
The LSE USCentre blog on American Politics and Policy featured a post on recent research published by Adjunct Assistant Professor of Planning Nicole Foster, PhD student James Murdoch and former Associate Professor of Planning Carl Grodach.  The research explores the relationship between arts industries and gentrification.
A national meta-analysis by Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and an assistant professor of planning in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, was featured in ScienMag and Health Medicine Network. The study shows that single-family property increases about 2.3 percent when located next to a transit station.
Nan Ellin, dean of the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, wrote that the Trinity River could be a game-changer for North Texas in a special column in the Star-Telegram.
Associate Professor Taner Ozdil has been selected as one of five Landscape Architecture Foundations-LAF 2017 CSI Research Fellows. The other recipients of this prestigious Fellowship come from from Columbia University, Penn State, the University of Technology Sydney, and West Virginia University.
A piece by Hunter Roth, Digital Fabrication Specialist, was awarded Best of Show at a SITE131 competition. Roth’s Fairy Landish birdhouse was selected for the award by The Dallas Morning News architect critic and CAPPA Associate Professor in Practice Mark Lamster.

CAPPA Dean Nan Ellin and Michelle Corson, chief executive of Champion Impact Capital in Dallas, penned an editorial for the Dallas Morning News titled "Fair Park could become a vibrant part of the city, but how do we pay for it?", encouraging Dallas to develop a financial plan for revitalizing Fair Park that focuses on philanthropy and creative financial mechanisms rather than taxpayer funding.


Mark Lamster, architecture critic for the Dallas Morning News and a professor in practice of architecture at the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, wrote an open letter in the Dallas Morning News to Ben Carson about how to solve the housing crisis. Carson is President-elect Donald Trump’s selection for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Professors in the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs and the Department of Civil Engineering have won three U.S. Department of Transportation grants in a national competition to work on improving transportation, Informed Infrastructure, Oregon's Herald and News and D Magazine reported.


Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and an assistant professor of planning in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, was quoted in a The Texas Tribune article on bus ridership in Texas. The article also appeared on Houston's KHOU.com website.
Kevin Sloan, an assistant professor in practice in the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, discussed the importance of megacities in the 21st century in a Dallas Morning News opinion piece.
Members of the faculty from CAPPA were recognized as finalists and award winners by AIA Dallas’s 2016 Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition. The Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition (KRob) has celebrated the best in architectural delineation for 42 years. KRob honors hand and digital delineation by professionals and students throughout the world and has averaged over 400 entries from 25 countries over the past several years.

In addition, a number of CAPPA students were also selected as finalists.

WINNER - The Richard B. Ferrier Award for Best Physical Delineation
Steve Quevedo
University of Texas at Arlington
Professional Physical Submission

WINNER - Best in Category
Thomas Rusher, REGISTERED ARCHITECT
RUSHER STUDIO LLC
Professional 3D Print

Finalist
Justin Ashby
University of Texas at Arlington
Student Hand

Finalist
Kelly Camargo
UT Arlington
Student Hand

Finalist
Asher Frailey, AIAS
University of Texas at Arlington
Student Hand

Finalist
Steve Quevedo
University of Texas at Arlington
Professional Hand

Finalist
Dustin Wheat, Architect
University of Texas Arlington
Professional Physical Submission

Finalist
Dustin Wheat, Architect
University of Texas Arlington
Professional Travel Sketch

Finalist
Thomas Rusher, REGISTERED ARCHITECT
RUSHER STUDIO LLC
Professional 3D Print


Pat D. Taylor has been inducted as a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. This honor was bestowed on on twenty-eight of the more than five thousand eligible landscape architects in the country. Until his recent retirement, Dr. Taylor served as Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at UTA for twenty-four years. During that time, he taught hundreds of students, chaired sixty-three master’s thesis committees and directed the Landscape Architecture Program at UTA to national prominence and to ranking among the top 15 in the nation twice since 2010.
Architect Marina Tabassum was recognized with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Bait Ur Rouf mosque in Bangladesh, according to The National. The US$1 million award is notable for being the world’s richest architectural prize. Marina Tabassum served as visiting professor at CAPPA last year.


Kate Holliday, director of UTA's David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture and associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, said people need to learn from the structures that have gone into making Dallas, The Dallas Morning News reported in covering the Festival of Ideas. Holliday, an architecture historian, said, “This is not something that happened overnight...We need to understand our history better, and to be honest about it and learn from our mistakes.”
Dallas Architecture Forum, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing public education about architecture, design and the urban environment, will open its 2016-2017 Panel Discussion Series Nov. 21 with “Dallas Trails and Bicycle Initiatives: Past, Present, Future,” Park Cities Bubble LifeOak Cliff Bubble LifeSouth Dallas Bubble Life and Preston Hollow Bubble Life reported. Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel will be one of the panelists. District 1’s Daniel was an adjunct professor of urban and public affairs at UTA prior to her election.


Bang Dang and Rizwan Faruqui, AIA, partners at Far + Dang in Dallas, received a Juror Citation in the 2016 AIA Dallas Built Design Awards. (View their project, Twin Gables.)
A 6-page article in the October issue of D Magazine about CAPPA called "How to Build a MegaCity" features Dean Ellin and three of our “Star Students": Myriam Igoufe, Ahoura Zandiatashbar, and Lorin Washington.


Kate Holliday, director of the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture and UTA associate professor in the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, will deliver the Samuel Benton Cantey III Lecture, “Flying Saucers, Catwalks, and Craters: A History of the Future in Fort Worth,” Historic Fort Worth’s Facebook page said.


Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, was published in The Field, ASLA's Professional Practice Networks' Blog. "Will the ‘Real Urban Designer’ Please Stand Up! Part I: Tracing the Roots" focuses on the terminology and history of urban design. Part II: Seeking Future Identity concentrates on the evolving definition along with the current and anticipated future practices of urban design.


Todd Hamilton, professor of architecture, was recognized by Builder Magazine with a 2016 Design Award for the Deloache Residence project. Professor Hamilton served the project as the architect of record. Boback Firoozbakht ('08 BS), creative director at the Dallas-based firm BDDM, served as the designer.
CAPPA's Kevin Sloan, Assistant Professor in Practice in the School of Architecture, has been selected by The Dallas Morning News as a volunteer columnist in its Community Voices program. Twenty-four writers were selected for 2016-2017, representing a diverse set of views, backgrounds and life experiences.

Voices columnists are volunteers chosen by The Dallas Morning News to be regular contributors for one year. Voices volunteers write opinion columns every four to six weeks. They also participate in writing workshops and other special events.


In its seventh year celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture Network presents ENLACES, a juried exhibition showcasing Latino architects and design professionals in Dallas.

A number of CAPPA faculty and alumni are among the selected exhibitors that will be honored at ENLACES and have their work exhibited at the Dallas Center for Architecture:

  • Carlos Bautista (MArch student, ‘15 BS), Olsen Studios
  • Dennis Chiessa (‘07 BS, ‘09 MArch), CAPPA (Lecturer of Architecture)
  • Alma Espinoza, Assoc. AIA (’11 BS, ’15 MArch), WDG Architecture
  • Wendy Hurtado (MArch student, ‘16 BS), Far + Dang
  • Ricardo Leon, Assoc. AIA (’07 BS), CAPPA (Lecturer of Architecture) and Far + Dang
  • Miguel Mendez, (MArch student, ’16 BS)
  • Ricardo Munoz, AIA (’07 BS), CAPPA (Lecturer of Architecture) and Page

Exhibition Opening

Wednesday, September 28

6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Latino Cultural Center

FREE event; please register to attend


Kate Holliday, director of the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture and associate professor of architecture, was the presenting author of “Urban Sprawl, Social Media and the Town Hall Square as a Symbol for Civic Culture,” a paper written with Colleen Casey, interim chair for the Department of Public Affairs and associate professor of public affairs, focusing on city halls and plazas in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan region.  The paper was part of the session “Town Hall Squares as Spatial Focal Points of Urban Life in the 19th and 20th Century” at the European Association of Urban History Conference in Helsinki, Finland in August 2016. The research project was funded by a CAPPA seed grant.


Kate Holliday, director of the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture and associate professor of architecture, presented “The Windowless Technological Box: The Beginnings of the Invisible Telecommunications Network,” at the Society for the History of Technology Conference at Tembusu College at the National University of Singapore in June 2016.  
Richard Greene, former Arlington mayor and professor in practice of public affairs, authored an op-ed article, “Becoming the model 21st-century urban research university,” in the Fort Worth Star Telegram. The article explains UTA’s strategic vision and growing impact on the local economy, and describes how UTA has changed since Greene started working with the university 20 years ago.


Ricardo Munoz, lecturer of architecture, earned a 2016 Texas Society of Architects Studio Award for his Element House design. The jurors deliberated over 45 entries, ultimately selecting five winning projects.


Karabi Bezboruah, associate professor of public affairs, received a Capacity Building Scholarship from the One Star Foundation to attend the 2016 Mission Capital Conference, a national conference for nonprofit scholars and practitioners held in Austin on September 8 and 9. Additionally, Bezboruah will attend a special pre-conference intensive, "The Art of System Leadership", on September 7 conducted by Heather McLeod Grant, co-author of Forces for Good.


Kate Holliday, associate professor of architecture and director of the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture, is the guest lecturer for the Historic Fort Worth 2016 Cantey Lecture and Preservation Awards on September 22 at 6:30 pm. Holliday will present "Flying Saucers, Catwalks, and Craters: A History of the Future in Fort Worth." 
Richard Cole, a professor in the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, examined the realities of a Texas secession in a special to the Star-Telegram. Besides losing federal funding and governmental protections, Cole also writes, "if not part of America, how could the Dallas Cowboys claim the title of 'America’s Team?'"
David Hopman, associate professor of landscape architecture, wrote about the maintenance decisions that can have a profound effect on the range of plants useful for an aesthetically qualified urban polyculture for The Field, the American Society of Landscape Architects professional practice networks' blog.
KXAS NBC 5 reported on UTA’s effort to study the area around Dallas Executive Airport. The study, led by Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and an assistant professor of planning, intends to understand how the economic impact will help or hurt the area.


Ivonne Audirac, program director of the planning program and associate professor of planning, has been selected as a Faculty Fellow in UTA’s Service Learning Program for the 2016-7 academic year. The program provides faculty with a year-long service-learning mentoring experience. Fellows are required to implement service learning into their curricula; submit a local, state, or national presentation; and work toward creating a manuscript for publication on the pedagogy of service learning.
Kevin Sloan, assistant professor in practice of architecture, interviewed Peter Weller for the Summer 2016 issue of AIA Dallas Columns. "Dr. Peter Weller: The Man Behind RoboCop" examines the work of the award winning actor and scholar, arguably best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1986 film "Robocop." Filmed on location in Dallas for its sleek and modern architecture, Robocop's story was actually set in a futuristic vision of Detroit.


David Hopman, associate professor and interim program director of landscape architecture, will serve as co-principal investigator for an interdisciplinary research project titled “GREEN STEAM: Using Principles of Design to Power the Development of Outdoor Educational Spaces.” The project has been selected for funding by UTA’s Office of the President as part of its Interdisciplinary Research Program to promote collaboration at UTA across academic units.


Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor of planning, co-authored the article, “The Cost and Affordability Paradox of Transit-Oriented Development: A Comparison of Housing and Transportation Costs Across Transit-Oriented Development, Hybrid and Transit-Adjacent Development Station Typologies” with researchers from Florida Atlantic University, University of New Orleans and University of Utah. The article was published in the July 2016 issue of the Journal of Housing Policy Debate.


Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor of planning, is launching Dallas’ first-ever walkability study, covering 66 intersections and 186 street segments in the city’s downtown core, Next City reported.
KRLD 1080 AM interviewed Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor of planning, about the institute's new project to analyze the walkability of downtown Dallas. “We are covering every street, segment and intersection in the downtown Dallas area,” Hamidi said. MSN audio also aired the KRLD segment.
A modern farmhouse in Dallas designed by Todd Hamilton, professor of architecture, and Sidebar Collective was showcased in the current issue of Dwell. The house was featured in the 2015 AIA Dallas Fall Home Tour.
NPR Dallas station, KERA/90.1 FM, noted the Fort Worth Community Arts Center exhibition, “12 Houses,” which features residences built by the architecture alumni and faculty of UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.
Alejandro Rodriguez, associate professor of public affairs, co-authored the article "Conceptualizing Leadership Psychosis: the Department of Veteran Affairs Scandal" with Dr. Alvin Brown, a graduate of our Public and Urban Administration program. The article was published in International Journal of Public Leadership, Vol. 12.
Douglas Klahr, associate dean and associate professor of architecture, authored the article "Traveling via Rome through the Stereoscope: Reality, Memory, and Virtual Travel" in Architectural Histories, 4(1): 8.
As David Hopman, associate professor of landscape architecture, nears completion of an on-campus demonstration of polyculture landscaping, the national ASLA has published the seventh of a series of Professor Hopman's articles about polyculture planting. 
Michael P. Buckley served as keynote speaker for the opening sessions of the 2016 Mortgage Bankers Association Dallas Conference. Buckley explored scenarios for re-purposing vacant or underutilized land within the urban cores of Dallas / Ft. Worth metropolitan areas. He also shared insights into corporate sponsorship of urban mixed-use development, as well as research initiatives of UTA’s Center for Metropolitan Density (CfMD), including the importance of strategic industry clusters, impact of swiftly-changing demographics, and benefits in new tax increment finance from high density urban development.  
The Star-Telegram published an opinion-editorial by Richard Cole, professor of public affairs, suggesting that states be given a first chance to address the transgender bathroom debate on their own.


Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, authored the article “Social Value of Urban Landscapes: Performance Study Lessons from Two Iconic Texas Projects” in Landscape Architecture Frontiers – LAF, 4(2).


Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, co-authored the article “Adopting Soundscape Technology to Assess Urban Landscape Performance” with UPPP PhD student Yalcin Yildirim for the May 2016 issue of Journal of Digital Landscape Architectural.


Mark Lamster, the award-winning architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News and a professor in practice of architecture at the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, has been awarded a Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.


Colleen Casey, an associate professor of public affairs, emphasized the link between community-based organizations and economic opportunity during a radio panel discussion on income inequality, KCPW.org reported. The Hinckley Institute Radio Hour on KCPW 105.5 FM (Salt Lake City, Utah) hosted the panel.


David Coursey, associate professor of public affairs, was elected Chair-Elect for the UTA Faculty Senate at its last meeting of the 2015-16 Academic Year. The Faculty Senate acts as the primary faculty representative to university governing authorities, and formulates policy and enacts legislation on all matters pertaining to the professional concerns, duties, standards, ethics, responsibilities, privileges, and perquisites of the UTA faculty.


David Coursey, associate professor of public affairs, was invited to present a May 5 seminar and workshop focusing on the creation and management of online programs for the Department of Government at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Citybizlist Philadelphia noted that Donald F. Gatzke, AIA, of ULI North Texas, a professor and past dean of the School of Architecture at UTA, is among 15 finalists for Philadelphia’s third annual Willard G. Rouse III Awards for Excellence. Gatzke is a frequent guest critic at architecture schools, has juried professional awards programs, and serves on the board of Vision North Texas, which has developed a plan for sustainable growth over the next 40 years. 


David Hopman, associate professor of landscape architecture, has been selected as one of 14 experts nationwide to write the first exam for The Sustainable Sites Initiative as part of the development of a new professional credential called the SITES Accredited Professional (SITES AP) currently underway at Green Business Certification, Inc.


Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor of planning, collaborated with Reid Ewing and Guang Tian of the University of Utah, Rachel Weinberger and Kevin Shively of Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, and Preston Stinger of Fehr & Peers Associates on the article “Trip and parking generation at transit-oriented developments: a case study of Redmond TOD, Seattle region” published in the journal Transportation
Alejandro Rodriguez, a visiting professor of architecture, was published by the International Journal of Public Leadership. The article, "Conceptualizing leadership psychosis: the Department of Veteran Affairs Scandal," was co-written by Dr. Alvin Brown, a graduate of our Public and Urban Administration Program.
Maria Martinez-Cosio, associate professor at UTA’s Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor of planning, are participating in a Dallas Architecture Forum panel discussion on “Economics and Architecture”, ArchDaily.com reported. 
In the Streetsblog USA (May 5, 2016) podcastShima Hamidi, Assistant Professor of Planning, with John Renne of Florida Atlantic University and Reid Ewing of the University of Utah, discuss their new article in Housing Policy Debate, titled “How Affordable Is HUD Affordable Housing?” The article focuses on the relationship between transportation costs and affordable housing costs.


Nan Ellin, dean of CAPPA, was named as a juror in the international ideas competition for President Obama’s Presidential Center in Chicago, Best Events U.S. reported. 

On Friday April 8, 2016, the Institute of Urban Studies hosted 20 planning and governmental officials from around the world as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program sponsored by the U.S Department of State.


Shima Hamidi and PhD students Ahoura Zandiatashbar, Priscylla Bento, and Myriam Igoufe gave brief presentations about current research on housing affordability and reimagining and reinvigorating Fair Park, followed by a panel discussion with Ivonne Audirac, Colleen Casey, Baranda Fermin, and Patricia Ward of the Tarrant County Community Development Division.


"TWELVE Houses", a selection of uniquely tailored residential designs by alumni and faculty of The University of Texas at Arlington were showcased through April 16, 2016  in an exhibit at NorthPark Center in Dallas. The exhibit and accompanying catalogue were curated by longtime UTA architecture professor Todd Hamilton and is part of the American Institute of Architects Dallas Chapter’s 16th Annual Retrospect Graphic Competition. 


Karabi Bezboruah, associate professor of public affairs, participated in two panel discussions focused on board leadership issues at the 2016 ATHENA Awards for Leadership in Sherman, TX. The program was sponsored by United Way of Grayson County, Austin College's Center for Community & Regional Development, and Texoma Women Get Connected.


Don Gatzke, professor of architecture, and Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, participated in a panel session with BC Workshop founder Brent Brown, AIA, and Lyndsay Mitchell, AICP, planning manager with the City of Arlington, at the American Society of Landscape Architects Texas Chapter 2016 Conference in April. “CONNECT: Community Outreach and Partnership By Design” focused on some of the major community outreach design, planning and/or implementation projects undertaken by the panelists.
In the chapter written for the new book, In Paper Cities: Urban Portraits in Photographic Books, Douglas Klahr, associate professor of architecture, examines the use of stereoscopic photobooks as a precursor to virtual reality and how a murderous regime used it for propaganda. The chapter, “Nazi Stereoscopic Photobooks of Vienna and Prague: Geopolitical Propaganda Collides with a Distinctive Visual Medium,” is an extension of Dr. Klahr's recent research of general photography and stereoscopic photography of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with a focus upon buildings and cities.


Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor of planning, collaborated with Amir Hajrasouliha, assistant professor at California Polytechnic State University, on the article “The typology of the American metropolis: monocentricity, polycentricity, or generalized dispersion?” published in the journal Urban Geography


Shima Hamidi, director of the Institute of Urban Studies and assistant professor of planning, was featured in the Spring 2016 issue of NTX Magazine, a publication of the North Texas Commission. The article, on page 34 of the publication, highlights the Grand Prairie Bike Plan recently completed by the Institute.
Three CAPPA faculty members were awarded UTA Faculty Senate Travel Awards this semester. 
Kate HollidayDouglas Klahr, and Yekang Ko each received a $500 travel grant. This was the inaugural award from this grant program. 


Ricardo Munoz, lecturer of architecture, received two Critic's Choice awards at the AIA Dallas 2016 Unbuilt Design Awards on April 28. Munoz's firm RCRD won the Critic's Choice First Place for the Light Basin project, and Third Place for the Element House project. 


Yekang Ko, assistant professor of planning, was recognized as a recipient of the 2016 Professor of the Year award by the Arlington Sunrise Rotary Club. The award recognizes outstanding faculty across UTA's schools and colleges.


Bang Dang, visiting lecturer in architecture, participated in an interview about the youth of the city in the spring issue of Columns.
The Star-Telegram published an opinion-editorial by Richard Cole, former professor of public affairs, suggesting that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' plan to address income inequality will not work in Texas.


Pat Taylor, professor and program director for Landscape Architecture in the UTA College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs, was named one of 28 American Society of Landscape Architects members elevated to the ASLA Council of Fellows for 2016, Total Landscape Care reported. Fellowship is among the highest honors the organization awards its members, recognizing the contributions their work has made to the profession and society at large.


Mark Lamster, associate professor in practice of architecture, discussed Dallas residential design and construction on KERA 90.1 FM's Think talk show Wednesday. Host Krys Boyd moderated the discussion with Lamster and Eric Nicholson of the Dallas Observer about "The Look of Dallas Living." Lamster is also architecture critic for The Dallas Morning News.
In a newly published article, Colleen Casey, associate professor of public affairs, examines the characteristics of nonprofit organizations that negotiated agreements with lenders to address community reinvestment issues during the last economic recession.  Her research indicates that nonprofits with greater capacity, located in areas of high economic need and with organizational missions related to community and social change are more likely to negotiate with lenders to develop programs to foster economic stability in low-income and minority communities. "Nonprofit organizations in governance arrangements: Adding democratic value to Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Agreements?" is available in Public Integrity, 18(3).
The DFW Branch Waters Network, a concept developed by Kevin Sloan, assistant professor in practice, and the Kevin Sloan Studio to restructure density patterns with nature, is featured in the April edition of Landscape Architecture Magazine. "Make No Plans"  explains how the Branch Waters Network uncovers the linkages that already exist in the 400-plus-mile system of the watershed network. The natural attraction they offer, reinforced by the 100-year old lesson of Turtle Creek, offers the potential to restructure existing and future density patterns.  


Taner Ozdil, associate professor of landscape architecture, participated in three presentations at the the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA 2016) academic conference in Salt Lake City in March. Ozdil presented "Looking into the Future: Ten Year Review of Academic Job Openings in Landscape Architecture in US.” Also, Ozdil co-presented with UPPP PhD student Yalcon Yildirim, “Urban Soundscape: Learning from the Sounds of Klyde Warren Park, Dallas.” Finally, he participated in a panel presentation “Looking Beyond Case Studies in Social Performance Research: Replicable Surveys and Generalizable Outcomes.”
A modern farmhouse designed by R. Todd Hamilton, professor of architecture, and architecture partner Sidebar Collective was showcased on Builder Online. The home was also part of the AIA Dallas Fall 2015 Home Tour.


Colleen Casey, associate professor of public affairs, participated in a March 31 panel discussion as part of a conference hosted by the Scholars Strategy Network Utah Chapter.  The panel topic centered on income inequality in Utah and Beyond.  Dr. Casey’s participation stems from her research examining the role community-based organizations play in making policy and programs work more effectively in low-income and minority communities. 
Kevin Sloan, assistant professor in practice of architecture, was recognized by AIA Dallas with an honorary membership at the 2016 Celebrate Architecture event on March 23.

FAB-LAB, an architectural concept designed by CAPPA visiting professor of architecture Alejandro Borges, was selected to be included in the 2016 Bienal Ibero-Americana international exhibition, an initiative of the government of Spain to promote, discuss and project architecture and urbanism from the Americas, Spain and Portugal. The 194 projects selected among more than 1,100 entries will be exhibited in Sao Paolo, Brasil in July. See images of Borges' FAB-LAB concept in Arch Daily, Mexico edition.

 


CAPPA ranked number nine on Value Colleges' list of Top 50 Best Value Master of Public Administration Programs, based on metrics including average starting salary, cost of attendance and reputation.

 


CAPPA’s graduate program in public affairs is among the more than 20 graduate programs at UTA recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 edition of “Best Graduate Schools,”.


Mark Lamster, the award-winning architecture critic of The Dallas Morning News and a professor in practice of architecture at CAPPA, was awarded a Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.


David Hopman, Associate Professor and Interim Program Director of Landscape Architecture, was selected to serve as co-principal investigator for an interdisciplinary research project titled “GREEN STEAM: Using Principles of Design to Power the Development of Outdoor Educational Spaces.” The project has been selected for funding by UTA’s Office of the President as part of its Interdisciplinary Research Program to promote collaboration at UTA across academic units.


In conjunction with the official launch of the new College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Arlington, CAPPA Dean Nan Ellin was profiled by contributing writer Andrew Moon, AIA, in the Winter 2016 edition of Columns magazin


Bang Dang and Rizwan Faruqui, AIA, partners at Far + Dang in Dallas, received a Juror Citation in the 2016 AIA Dallas Built Design Awards.


Ricardo Munoz, lecturer of architecture, earned a 2016 Texas Society of Architects Studio Award for his Element House design.


Karabi Bezboruah, associate professor of public affairs, received a Capacity Building Scholarship from the One Star Foundation to attend the 2016 Mission Capital Conference, a national conference for nonprofit scholars and practitioners.


Ivonne Audirac, program director of the planning program and associate professor of planning, has been selected as a Faculty Fellow in UTA’s Service Learning Program for the 2016-7 academic year. The program provides faculty with a year-long service-learning mentoring experience.


A modern farmhouse in Dallas designed by Todd Hamilton, professor of architecture, and Sidebar Collective was showcased in the current issue of Dwell. The house was featured in the 2015 AIA Dallas Fall Home Tour.


"TWELVE Houses", a selection of uniquely tailored residential designs by alumni and faculty of The University of Texas at Arlington were showcased in an exhibit at NorthPark Center in Dallas. The exhibit and accompanying catalogue were curated by longtime UTA architecture professor Todd Hamilton and is part of the American Institute of Architects Dallas Chapter’s 16th Annual Retrospect Graphic Competition.


Three CAPPA faculty members were awarded UTA Faculty Senate Travel Awards. Kathryn Holliday, Douglas Klahr, and Yekang Ko each recieved a $500 travel grant. This was the inaugural award from this grant program.


Ricardo Munoz, lecturer of architecture, received two Critic's Choice awards at the AIA Dallas 2016 Unbuilt Design Awards on April 28. Munoz's firm RCRD won the Critic's Choice First Place for the Light Basin project, and Third Place for the Element House project.


Yekang Ko, assistant professor of planning, was recognized as a recipient of the 2016 Professor of the Year award by the Arlington Sunrise Rotary Club. The award recognizes outstanding faculty across UTA's schools and colleges.


Kevin Sloan, assistant professor in practice of architecture, was recognized by AIA Dallas with an honorary membership at the 2016 Celebrate Architecture event on March 23.


FAB-LAB, an architectural concept designed by CAPPA visiting professor of architecture Alejandro Borges, was selected to be included in the 2016 Bienal IberoAmericana international exhibition, an initiative of the government of Spain to promote, discuss and project architecture and urbanism from the Americas, Spain and Portugal.

2019

Myriam Igoufe ('18 UPPP), the Dallas Housing Authority vice president of policy development and research and UTA doctoral graduate in CAPPA, is heading up a DHA team that will lead the agency’s policy initiatives, Business Wire and Investor Network reported. Igoufe led the UTA-generated North Texas Regional Housing Assessment analysis, which included 21 cities and housing authorities across North Texas.


David Shilson (14' Master of Public Administration) was selected as the new Police Chief for the City of Frisco according to the StarLocalMedia. Shilson is being promoted from deputy chief beginning Nov. 1. Chief Shilson has 20 years of law enforcement experience with seventeen of those years have been with the Frisco Police Department.
Emily Williams (01' Master of Landscape Architecture) was named Chairman of the City of Dallas Landmark Commission. 
The AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture hosted an ENLACES reception to provide an opportunity for many Latino architects and designers to showcase their works. A few UTA alumni had their work selected for an honors award:
  • Ana Larranaga ('16 BS Architecture), "Cultivando Sinapsis en Arquitectura " | Public Favorite Award
  • Maria Contreras ('16 BS Architecture), "Urban Infill"
  • Ramon Cavazos, "Scottish Rite for Children"
  • Ricardo Leon ('12 BS Architecture), "Olfaction Bank" 

Architect Ralph Duesing ( '84 Master of Architecture), was featured in the July/August 2019 issue of the Dallas Paper City magazine for collaboration with interior designer Joseph Minton. The featured architectural project in Preston Hollow, Dallas is an elegant modern villa inspired by french designer Jean-Michel Frank.
The City of Mesquite has announced Maria Martinez ('17 MPA) as its new Director of Neighborhood Services. She will direct Environmental Code, Neighborhood Vitality, Housing and Community Services, and Mesquite Animal Services.
The city of Allen, Texas announced the hire of Rebecca Vice ('12 MPA) as Assistant City Manager, according to Allen America. Vice joined the city manager’s office in 2013 and later served as organizational development and employee engagement administrator.
Alfred Vidaurri Jr., NCARB, FAIA, AICP, ('79 BS of Architecture and '82 Master of Architecture) vice president at Freese and Nichols, Inc., was elected second vice president of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) at the organization’s Centennial Annual Business Meeting in Washington, D.C.
John Kessel ('00 MCRP) is one of the finalists for Spring Field, Oregon City Manager and is currently the recovery and resiliency coordinator for Sonoma County, Calif. He has 27 years of experience in local government and previously served as city manager in Schertz, Texas. 
Karla Cavazos ('94 BS Architecture) has been hired by Southern Land Company, a national real estate developer of multifamily, mixed-use developments and master-planned communities, as vice president of commercial design and construction, according to The Nashville Ledger and the Nashville Post. Cavazos has the critical role of synchronizing in-house and architecture and engineering teams with Southern Land Company’s Commercial Construction Division to maintain high quality, reduce costs and accelerate delivery.
A paper authored by Ahoura Zandiatashbar ('19 UPPP) and Shima Hamidi, has been published: “High-tech Business Location, Transportation Accessibility, and Implications for Sustainability: Evaluating the Differences between High-tech Specializations using Empirical Evidence from U.S. Booming Regions", Sustainable Cities and Society. Their research focused on the relationship between the knowledge economy and sustainable outcomes.
Ahoura Zandiatashbar ('19 UPPP) has been invited to participate in the Journal of Planning Education & Research (JPER) Writing Workshop for New Scholars at the Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Ahoura is one of the eleven selected participants for this July workshop.
Kevin Lasher, AICP ('81 BS Architecture & '90 MCRP), was recently promoted to the Assistant City Manager for the City of Hearth. With 35 years of experience as an architect and city planner he has achieved and maintained his certification as a city planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) since 1992. Kevin has served as a city planner in several Texas cities of various sizes such as Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Mesquite, Burleson, and Midlothian. Kevin has been with the City of Heath since August of 2017
Steven Duong, ('13 MCRP), was featured in Dallas Innovates for his contribution to the DFW metroplex's future in design and transportation. He recently won the contract to create the City of Dallas’s first ever climate action plan to help them meet the Paris Agreement goals. He is currently the Associate Vice President at AECOM in the Design + Planning group.
Steven Duong, ('13 MCRP), was featured in D Magazine as the "Forefront of Dallas’ Physical and Social Challenges". He is currently the Associate Vice President at AECOM in the Design + Planning group.
Ana Margarita Aguirre ( '16  Master of Architecture), is working for HKS and is part of the team designing Globe Life Park, the soon-to-be new home of the Texas Rangers,The Dallas Morning News reported in a Cheryl Hall profile on Aguirre.
Mike Foreman ('10 MPA) has been appointed as the Town Manager of Monument, Colorado. Foreman has served as the interim down manager since December of 2018.
Ryan Dollinger ('17 MPA), has been appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Juvenile Justice Advisory Board for terms at the pleasure of the Governor. The board advises the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division on programs and preventative solutions and submits recommendations regarding federal compliance issues and federal grant disbursements.
Stephanie R. Finniri ('15MPA), is a student in the Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) program at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), and has been selected as a 2019 New Leaders Council (NLC) fellow. NLC is a public charity and leadership development organization with 50 chapters across the United States.
Bryan Fenstermaker ('07 MCRP & MPA), was one of the 30 individuals selected by the International Downtown Association's (IDA) as industry's brightest professionals for the 2019 Emerging Leaders Fellowship (ELF) Program. The Emerging Leader Fellowship is a week-long experiential program in New York City to bring together a cohort of IDA professionals from within the urban district management industry.
Dian Nostikasar ('15 UPPP), accepted an offer for an Assistant Professor position in Environmental Science and Sustainability position at Drake University in Iowa, beginning in the Fall 2019.
Myriam Igoufe ('18 UPPP) was promoted to Vice President of Policy Development & Research at Dallas Housing Authority (DHA).

Thomas Scott ('18 MPA) received "Outstanding Student of the Year" by The Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) at the Transportation Research Board conference in Washington, D.C. 


2018

Mike Foreman ('10 MPA) has been appointed as interim town manager in Monument, Colorado, The Tribune reported. Foreman has more than 30 years’ experience working in local government, including as city manager of Craig, Colo., and the City of Celina, Texas.


Chad Edwards ('05 MCRP) is the city of Fort Worth’s new mobility and innovation officer, FortWorthTexas.gov and Fort Worth Business Press reported.
Spiezle Architectural Group Inc. has hired Michael Thurston  ('92 Master of Architecture) as senior project manager, HC+O News reported.
Myriam Igoufe ('18 UPPP), a UTA doctoral graduate in urban planning, discussed North Texas' lingering housing inequities on KERA News. She is the project manager of a comprehensive new study for the North Texas Regional Housing Assessment
Andrew Mack ('87 MCRP) has been hired as the City Planner for city of Park Rapids, Minnesota. Council member Tom Conway, who was present at the interview, said he was "extremely impressed" and that Mack "did admit to having grant-writing experience. The way he came across, it seemed like he would be a team player, and I think staff agreed."
LPA has hired Teresa Rodriguez ('12 Master of Architecture) as managing director of the firm’s Dallas office, New York’s WICZ Fox 40, Bezinga and the Albany, N.Y., Times Union reported. Rodriguez holds a master’s degree in architecture from UTA. LPA is an integrated design firm.
Matthew Foster ('13 MPA) was recognized at the UTA 2018 Distinguished Alumni Awards Reception as a "Distinguished Recent Graduate". Foster is the Director of External & Legislative Affairs for AT&T.
While UTA’s affordable fair housing assessment study reflects an unflattering image of segregation in Dallas, the city had the courage to initiate the research and is learning from this study, a UTA alumna wrote in an op-ed piece in The Dallas Morning News. Myriam Igoufe ('18 UPPP), who earned her doctorate at UTA in urban planning, wrote that the Dallas City Council expressed a commitment to finding bold ways to tackle these complex issues.
A UTA fair housing assessment showed economic and racial segregation across Dallas, The Dallas Morning News and D Magazine reported. Myriam Igoufe ('18 UPPP), who recently earned her doctorate from UTA, and Stephen Mattingly, a UTA civil engineering professor, performed the assessment for the city of Dallas and 20-plus other cities and housing authorities. “Dallas is marked by a very stark geography of inequity,” Igoufe said. “We have also documented systemic barriers to opportunities.” Mattingly said if the study had gone back earlier than 1990, he believes data would have shown these areas of inequity for a long time.
Two graduates, Clodagh Ryan ('18 BS Architecture) and Estefania Barreto ('18 Architecture History Minor) produced an “Architour: The Legacy of Wiley G. Glarkson" for Historic Fort Worth on October 27, 2018.
UTA alumna Laurie Leenhouts ('99 MPA) has been named Texas division president of the North American Title Co., overseeing the company’s operations throughout the state, News Central Asia and Cision reported. She earned her master’s degree in public administration from UTA.
Trinh V Nguyen ('18 BS Interior Design), received a full time offer with Gensler, San Francisco as a Technical Designer specializing in "Interior Hospitality".
Rich Stoglin ('92 MPA) was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, the Guidry News reported. Stoglin, CEO of Arlington’s The Stoglin Group, earned his master’s degree in public administration from UTA.
Dr. Myriam Igoufe('18 UPPP) has joined the Dallas Housing Authority as director of Housing Services for DHA's Housing Choice Voucher program, Dallas Business Journal reported. She will be responsible for ensuring DHA continues to effectively enhance affordable housing options in high opportunity neighborhoods.
This summer, Dr. Ali Adil ('18 UPPP) joined the nonprofit research sector. Dr. Adil is a new a Research Associate with Texas Energy Poverty Institute (TEPRI) where he will be working towards alleviating energy poverty challenges in Texas.  
UTA alumnus Tim de Noble ('86 BS Architecture), professor and dean of the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University, has again been selected and recognized by Design Intelligence as among the Top 25 Most Admired Educators in Architecture, Interiors and Landscape Architecture for 2019, Kansas State University reported. He earned his bachelor's degree in architecture from UTA. 
Jose Landeros ('12 MPA) has been named El Paso County's new planning and development director. He has more than 15 years of public policy and economic development research experience.
UTA alumnus Skip Ogle was elected chair of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported. Ogle graduated UTA with a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a master's degree in city and regional planning. 
Justin Pruitt ('10 MPA), has been hired as the City of Lubbock organization’s new Business Development Director. His initial focus will be on enhancing downtown redevelopment and continuing to improve communications with the business and development communities as a whole.
Colorado-based architect Mark Harris ('87 BS Architecture) pushes boundaries from what is to what can be with his exhibit at the 2018 International Venice Biennale, Modern in Denver reported. Each project in the exhibit transcends architecture to investigate human culture with an optimistic vision of our “future future,” depicting what already exists in radical and innovative ways. Harris is a UTA architecture alumnus.
AJ Fawver ('10 MPA), has been hired as the City of Lubbock’s new director of planning. As the director of Planning, Fawver will oversee the department’s mission to promote and protect the health, safety, comfort, convenience, prosperity and general welfare of the citizens of Lubbock by assuring quality development in the city. Her scheduled start date is June 6.
Kate Aoki ('11 Master of Architecture), architect at Dallas-based DSGN Associates, moderated The Dallas Architecture Forum’s panel discussion of “Design Inspirations” last night at Dallas Black Dance Theater, Dallas Uptown BubbleLife reported. Aoki earned her master’s degree in architecture from UTA. Bang Dang, a UTA lecturer and graduate, and UTA alumni Jessica Stewart Lendvay and Madhavi Sonar were on the panel.
Jesica McEachern ('15 MPA), has been hired as an assistant city manager in Lubbock, according to Lubbock Avalanche Journal. McEachern will oversee the departments of public works, engineering, and development services at the City of Lubbock. Her scheduled start date is June 4.
Courtney Sandifer Terry ('09 MPA), producer, director and production designer was mentioned in a WoodlandsOnline.com article for shooting a quirky thriller currently titled “Life Insurance Lottery” film in the local Spring area. 
IA Interior Architects in Dallas hired David Lubin ('94 Interior Design) as co-managing director to grow the firm locally and nationally, retailenvironments.org reported. Lubin earned his bachelor’s degree in interior design from UTA.
Rebecca Cox ('14 MPA), was mentioned in a starlocalmedia.com article for being named the new executive director for CASA of Denton County. As director, Cox is responsible for leading CASA in its mission to provide trained community volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children and promote community awareness about child abuse issues.
Nicole Foster ('16 UPPP), a doctoral graduate and former adjunct professor for CAPPA, was mentioned in a CityLab.com article about the connection between the arts and gentrification. Foster and Carl Grodach, a former CAPPA associate professor, published a 2016 study on the issue.

Mark Harris ('87 BS Architecture), principal founder of markharris ARCHITECTS, LLC , has received three project awards from the "2017 Rethinking the Future (RTF) Sustainability Awards". The awards program recognizes distinguished and innovative architecture with specific emphasis on sustainable design.

 

1. Category: Cultural Concept Award- Punk Music Venue (Abandoned Water Tower)

2. Category: Institutional Concept Award- US/Mexico Border Crossing

3. Category: Public Building Concept Award- Lonetree Athletics Center

Mark Harris will also have multiple projects featured at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, the world’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious international stage for Art and Architecture.

*NOTE: MARKHARRIS ARCHITECTS WON FOUR RFA Sustainability AWARDS IN 2015

The Dallas Business Journal recognized alumna Shannon Carpenter Bearden ('09 Master of Architecture) as one of its 2018 “40 Under 40” honorees.
Bilal Caliskan ('17 MCRP), received a "Student Project Award" from the Midwest Section Texas APA board. His project thesis was titled: "Factors Making a Street a Vibrant Place: Comparing Street Users’ Vibrancy Perception between Main Street, Fort Worth, Texas, USA and Inonu Boulevard, Sivas, Turkey. The Section’s annual awards program recognizes outstanding planning efforts, innovative projects, best practices, and planning leadership, advocacy and education. The entries were evaluated based on originality, quality, implementation and the role of planners, among other category-specific criteria.
Kevin Park ('17 BS Architecture), was selected to participate in the American Institute of Architecture Students CRIT Scholar fellowship program, Architect reported. The program is supported by the AIA in partnership with several prominent architecture firms. Recipients receive a $1,000 grant for their research project and are matched with a mentor conducting research at an architecture firm.

2017

A number of CAPPA faculty and alumni were among the selected exhibitors honored at ENLACES, a juried exhibition showcasing Latino architects and design professionals in Dallas presented by AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture Network. Carlos Bautista (MArch student, ‘15 BS); Dennis Chiessa (‘07 BS, ‘09 MArch); Alma Espinoza, Assoc. AIA (’11 BS, ’15 MArch); Wendy Hurtado (MArch student, ‘16 BS); Ricardo Leon, Assoc. AIA (’07 BS); Miguel Mendez, (MArch student, ’16 BS); Ricardo Munoz, AIA (’07 BS)


Steven Duong (’13 MCRP), an urban designer with AECOM, was awarded the "Urban Pioneer Award" by the Greater Dallas Planning Council (GDPC)


Wes Blair (’12 MPA) and Cape Girardeau, Mo. police chief, was named to the Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board by Gov. Eric Greitens, STL News reported.
Renovations completed on the Chester W. Ditto Golf Course in Arlington provide new space for UTA’s golf teams to practice, according to golfcoursearchitecture.net. Architect John Colligan (’80 BS Architecture and ’86 Master of Architecture) performed the redesign.
Bradley Ford (’07 MCRP) has been hired as assistant city manager for the city of Waco, KWTX reported. He was previously deputy city manager of Burleson.
Phillip Contreras (’90 BS Architecture), an architect, focuses his company on providing architecturally minded design solutions to raising homes, the Houston Chronicle reported. His company Arkitektura offers their clients a turnkey elevation solution – accounting for permits, material and labor.
Diane Woodend Jones (’80 BS Architecture), vice chair of the CAPPA advisory council and chairman of the board of Lea+Elliott, was honored by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s Transportation Development Foundation’s Ethel S. Birchland Lifetime Achievement Award, Informed Infrastructure reported.
Steven Duong (’13 MCRP), a Dallas urban planner, was interviewed by The Dallas Morning News about the hyperloop, a futuristic mode of travel that would use levitating pods to shuttle people and goods across hundreds of miles in minutes. Duong said Texas is an ideal place for the hyperloop.
Eduardo Castañeda (’12 BS, Architecture and ’14 MArch) was highlighted in a D CEO Magazine article about the efforts of Dallas’ Latinos in Architecture group to mentor in the community. Castañeda joined the Latinos in Architecture group while a student at UTA.
Kenny Jefferson (’15 BS, Interior Design) was featured in The Shorthorn. Jefferson is a project coordinator in Facilities Management at UTA who served as the lead contact between campus operations and CAPPA while the CAPPA building was renovated in 2015. 
Alfred Vidaurri Jr. (’79 BS, Architecture and ’82 MArch) has been elected secretary of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards' board of directors, Citybizlist.com reported. Vidaurri serves as vice president of Freese and Nichols Inc.
Richard Hebert (’93 MArch) recently passed his licensure exams and became a licensed architect, Biz New Orleans reported. He has been with Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects since 2006.
Wayne Snell (’16 MPA) has been hired as director of neighborhood and inspection services for the City of Lewisville, the Lewisville Texan Journal reported.
James Ferrara’s (’96 MArch) work to build a classic villa, inspired by Italian architect Andrea Palladio, in Oak Cliff was profiled in Paper City Dallas. Ferrara studied Palladio while earning his master’s degree.
David Lee (’91 MArch) has been hired as senior project manager for Dallas architecture firm th+a, CityBizlist reported. The award-winning firm specializes in education and healthcare spaces.
StudioMET Architects was awarded the Decorative Center Houston Stars of Design Award for Architecture, the Houston Patch, the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, and the Laredo Morning Times reported. Shawn Gottschalk (’06 MArch) is a partner at the award-winning firm.
Nick Nelson (’08 MLA) was honored by the Fort Worth Business Press as one of the 2017 40 Under 40 class. The award recognizes successful young professionals who are outstanding in their industries and communities. Nelson is associate principal at Pacheco Koch.
William Gladbach (’97 BS, Architecture and ’85 BS, Civil Engineering) has been appointed managing director of the western region of Manhard Consulting, a civil engineering and surveying firm, several outlets, including KLKN ABC 8 in Lincoln, Neb., and WBND-LD ABC 57 in South Bend, Ind.,reported.
Porter Fuqua (’15 MArch) is relaunching historic Dallas-based Casci Plaster, PaperCity reported. Fuqua is an associate architect with J. Wilson Fuqua & Associates.
Kevin G. Sneed (’86 BS, Architecture) has been named Fellow of The American Institute of Architects. Sneed is partner and senior director of architecture with OTJ Architects in Washington, DC.
Elizabeth Bigler ('13 BS, Architecture) was recently awarded The Construction Industry Association’s 2016 Magnolia award, Citybizlist reported. The Magnolia Award annually recognizes outstanding women in construction who demonstrate excellence in job performance, commitment to education, and demonstrate leadership in promoting a positive image for the construction industry.
Wendle Medford, who holds a master’s in public administration from UTA, has been appointed assistant city manager of the city of Forney, the Forney Messenger reported.

Willow Park has chosen Carrie West as its new police chief, the Star-Telegram reported. West graduated from UTA with a master of public administration in 2007.

(UPDATE: Chief West was sworn in on February 1, according to the Star-Telegram.)


The new Texas Rangers ballpark in Arlington set to open in 2020 will be designed by Dallas-based HKS, the same company that designed AT&T Stadium, the American Airlines Center, and UTA's College Park Center, WFAA 8The Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Business Journal reported. A Star-Telegram editorial endorsed the announcement. Ralph Hawkins, a UTA Distinguished Alum, is chairman emeritus of HKS, Inc.

2016

Eli Ochoa, president and CEO of ERO Architects and a UTA School of Architecture alumnus, recently completed work on the McAllen Performing Arts Center, Progress Times reported. 


Malcolm Oliver, a planner, was featured in a Public Now article about how he has influenced cities and even countries about municipal planning and its ability to affect social change. Oliver earned his doctorate in public and urban administration from UTA.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed John ‘Skip’ Ogle of Tyler to a seat on the Neches River Authority Board of Directors, PublicNow reported. Ogle received his master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from UTA.
UTA alumna Allison J.H. Thompson, director of economic development and tourism for the city of Cedar Hill, is participating in a webinar organized by the International Economic Development Council, Planetizen reported. Thompson holds a master’s degree in urban affairs from UTA.
Boback Firoozbakht ('08 BS), creative director at the Dallas-based firm BDDM, was recognized by Builder Magazine with a 2016 Design Award for the Deloache Residence projectTodd Hamilton, professor of architecture, served the project as the architect of record.

In its seventh year celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, the AIA Dallas Latinos in Architecture Network presents ENLACES, a juried exhibition showcasing Latino architects and design professionals in Dallas.

A number of CAPPA faculty and alumni are among the selected exhibitors that will be honored at ENLACES and have their work exhibited at the Dallas Center for Architecture:

  • Carlos Bautista (MArch student, ‘15 BS), Olsen Studios
  • Dennis Chiessa (‘07 BS, ‘09 MArch), CAPPA (Lecturer of Architecture)
  • Alma Espinoza, Assoc. AIA (’11 BS, ’15 MArch), WDG Architecture
  • Wendy Hurtado (MArch student, ‘16 BS), Far + Dang
  • Ricardo Leon, Assoc. AIA (’07 BS), CAPPA (Lecturer of Architecture) and Far + Dang
  • Miguel Mendez, (MArch student, ’16 BS)
  • Ricardo Munoz, AIA (’07 BS), CAPPA (Lecturer of Architecture) and Page

Exhibition Opening

Wednesday, September 28th

6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Latino Cultural Center

FREE event; please register to attend


Greg Hudson ('11 MPA) was named city manager of the City of Gilmer, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported. Hudson was previously city manager of the City of Sansom Park in Tarrant County from October 2013 until August 31, 2016.
Steve Polasek ('93 MPA) has been named city manager of the City of Cleburne, the Cleburne Times Review reported. Polasek returns to Texas after serving as city manager for the City of Roswell, NM. Previously, Polasek was city manager for the City of Keller until 2012.
The City of Amarillo has appointed alumnus AJ Fawver as the city’s new planning director, KFDA CBS 10 reported. Fawver earned a master’s degree in public administration from UTA.
Norma Lehman ('00 BS), director of sustainability for The Beck Group, has earned the WELL Accredited Professional credential through the International WELL Building Institute. The accreditation places her among a group of leading professionals who are dedicated to supporting human health and well-being in the buildings that make up our communities.
James Stephenson NCARB, LEED® AP ('78 BS) has been named principal at VLK Architects. Stephenson will be responsible for the Fort Worth-based firm’s automobile dealership sector.

Vinsen Faris ('93 MPA) has been named Bexar County-based Christian Senior Services’ new chief executive officer, Texas Non Profits reported. He is the former executive director of Johnson and Ellis counties Meals on Wheels.


Ann Foss ('16 PhD) has joined the City of Arlington as Principal Planner where her duties include oversight of the Arlington Urban Design Center, a partnership between CAPPA and the City of Arlington.
Douglas Prude ('12 MCRP) has joined Downtown Dallas, Inc (DDI) as economic development and planning analyst. Prude has over 15 years of professional experience, spending the past four years in commercial real estate as the Director of Research for the Henry S. Miller family of companies.
Michael Bennett ('83 MArch) was named Top Private CEO of the Year by Fort Worth Business. Bennett is principal of the architecture firm Bennett Benner Partners, a company that has shaped downtown Fort Worth. Bennett also serves on CAPPA's advisory council.
Enrique Mendez ('77 BArch) has joined HNTB Corp. as aviation project director–architecture and associate vice president, Aviation Pros reported. 
The PECH Chandelier designed by Juan Rivera ('14 BS) with the Dallas firm martin&martindesign was featured in the May/June Issue of Luxe Magazine.
Bryan Fenstermaker ('07 MPA,MCRP) has been named the new executive director for Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation, a non-profit real estate development/management company and a public space maintenance and enhancement organization in Philadelphia.
Dee Leggett ('14 MPA) has been appointed regional vice president of First Transit, Mass Transit reported.
Tommy Stewart, AIA (’74 BS, ’77 MArch) is featured in the March/April 2016 issue of Texas Architect for his work with Architecture for Humanity to build a school for earthquake-ravaged Haiti.
Zaida Basora, FAIA ('84 MArch) is the assistant director of public works for the City of Dallas and the 2016 president of AIA Dallas. This month AIA Dallas interviewed Zaida as part of the organization's leadership profile series.
The design team of Alex Worden (’07 BS) and Audrey Worden (’07 BS), collaborating as studioTJOA, were one of six winning entries for the “Reimagine a New York City Icon” competition, the 2016 Design Challenge sponsored by Metals in Construction magazine and the Ornamental Metal Institute of New York for the Most Innovative and Energy-Efficient Redesign of the Façade of 200 Park Avenue. Architects, engineers, students, designers, and others from all over the world were invited to submit their vision for recladding 200 Park Avenue (formerly the Pan Am Building, now the MetLife Building), which was built a half-century ago as the world’s largest corporate structure.