Click an event link below to see what is going on at the College of Design.
Department of the History of Art and Architecture
December 2025
4:30 p.m.
The Oregon Humanities Center presents its 2025–26 speaker series centered on the theme of “Attention.”
The “Attention” series will explore the dynamics of how, why, and what we focus on shapes our reality and creates our purpose. Also known as concentration, alertness, focus, notice, awareness, heed, regard, and consideration—Attention is the fundamental cognitive ability to sustain one’s energy on a specific pursuit or thought.
Our first event will feature three UO faculty members on a panel discussing, from their own perspectives, how attention connects us to others and allows us to experience the world around us.
Santiago Jaramillo is an associate professor in the Department of Biology and the Institute of Neuroscience. His lab studies auditory cognition—how the brain helps us hear the world (recognize sounds, pay attention to sounds, remember sounds, etc). Their research is performed on mice so advanced techniques can be utilized to measure individual neurons of different classes and change their activity with high precision. While their work focuses on the healthy brain, rather than any specific disorder, their studies can help others understand and address disorders related to hearing (tinnitus, auditory processing disorders, age-related hearing loss, etc) and inspire better artificial hearing systems.
Kate Mondloch is a professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory. Her research interests focus on late 20th- and early 21st-century art, theory, and criticism, particularly as these areas of inquiry intersect with the cultural, social, and aesthetic possibilities of new technologies. Her research fields include media art and theory, installation art, feminism, new media, science and technology studies, digital humanities, human flourishing, and mindfulness in higher education. She is especially interested in theories of spectatorship and subjectivity, and in research methods that bridge the sciences and the humanities.
Forest Pyle is a professor of English and Cartoon and Comics Studies. His interests include 19th Century British Literary Studies, Literary and Critical Theory, Poetry and Poetics, Postmodern and Contemporary Literary Studies, and Visual Culture. His work explores the problems and posibilities posed by aesthetic experience, particularly in the context of Romantic and post-Romantic literature.
School of Art + Design Events
October 2025
4:00 p.m.
University of Oregon 2025-26 Visiting Artist Lecture Series Presented by the Department of Art and Center for Art Research
Abyssal is about what is on land and in the ocean and what connects the two through migration and the ocean itself. It traces the history of porcelain, of Europe and Asia, of transpacific migration, of women’s labor, and its lack of recognition, of the intertidal. When first imported to Europe, porcelain was a mystery. True Chinese porcelain is luminous—when held up to the light, it appears translucent. Europeans didn’t know how it was made, conjecturing that it was made from seashells. Kings hired alchemists to find the recipe for porcelain, and they eventually made it themselves with a different type of clay. This initial contact with Asia and China set up the dynamic of desire—the mystery of the object that underpins the West’s view of the East. This dynamic carries through to the present day culturally, specifically through the desire and objectification of Asian women’s bodies. Bodies that labor and give care.
Patty Chang is a Los Angeles based artist and educator using performance, video, installation and narrative forms. Notable awards and honors include Kohler Maker Space Residency in Sheboygan, WI, Anonymous Was a Woman Grant, and Creative Capital Grant amongst others. In addition to numerous residencies, and fellowships, her work has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, New Museum, M+ Museum in Hong Kong, MAAP in Brisbane, Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in Manila, Philippines, and Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. Chang currently teaches at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
This lecture is made possible by the George and Matilda Fowler Endowment Fund.
4:00 p.m.
University of Oregon 2025-26 Visiting Artist Lecture Series Presented by the Department of Art and Center for Art Research
Fred H. C. Liang’s recent work combines jianzhi (traditional Chinese paper cutting) with porcelain to explore cultural exchange between East and West. His installations investigate how ideas and people are disseminated, appropriated, and transformed through global encounters. Liang excavates buried histories to uncover hidden narratives that continue to shape identity and aesthetics. He invites viewers down a rabbit hole of historical and contemporary events, where unexpected connections emerge and alternate realities unfold. Rooted in materials often associated with craft and domesticity, Liang’s immersive, three-dimensional environments made from pliable paper and ceramic reimagine familiar forms. Through this process, he bridges memory and material, creating space for reflection on how rituals, traditions, and iconography are inherited and reshaped across time and culture. His work prompts a visual dialogue on the fragility and impermanence of personal and collective histories, ultimately deconstructing and re-contextualizing cultural forms to illuminate the invisible structures that govern our lives.
Fred H. C. Liang is a Boston-based artist and professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from Yale University. Liang’s work, which explores cultural exchange through printmaking, paper cutting, and ceramics, has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the ICA Boston, Inside Out Museum (Beijing), Currier Museum of Art, and Milwaukee Art Museum. His work is held in public and private collections such as Fidelity, the Gund Collection, the Addison Museum of American Art, and the Rose Art Museum. Liang has been recognized with grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Joan Mitchell Foundation (2020), and the Boston Foundation’s Brother Thomas Fellowship (2021). He has completed residencies at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Santiago, Chile) and the Swatch Art Peace Hotel (Shanghai). His work has been featured in HuffPost, WBUR Open Studio, and The Boston Globe.
This lecture is made possible by the Gilkey Foundation Fund.
School of Architecture & Environment
October 2025
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Presented by the TallWood Design Institute, a strategic interdisciplinary research collaborative partnership between Oregon State University (OSU) and the University of Oregon (UO), the symposium offers a unique platform for architecture, wood science, and engineering faculty from UO and OSU to showcase important mass timber research and public initiatives.
November 2025
11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Should you go to grad school? Going to graduate school is a BIG life decision! You can gain specialized knowledge, research, connections, and expertise in your chosen field, which can lead to better career opportunities and increased earning potential. However, it's essential to carefully consider your goals, commitment, and financial situation before deciding to pursue further education. Coming to this event is a great first step!
Explore your interest in pursuing an advanced degree at the Graduate School Fair! (11/13 from 11am-2pm in the EMU Ballrooms)
This event offers a valuable opportunity for you to learn about various graduate programs (both at the UO and other top universities!) and the benefits they provide to prepare you for a career in research, academia, or specialized industry roles. Talk to recruiters about the application process and financial aid, or ask them about career outcomes for students who pursue advanced degrees--this is your opportunity to explore and learn!
Whether you're still exploring career paths or ready to apply for the coming year, the fair is open to students at any stage of your academic journey.
Highlights of the fair:
- Representatives from graduate programs across the United States (including the University of Oregon), offering a diverse range of degree programs and academic disciplines including:
- Architecture & Design
- Business Management
- Child Behavioral Health
- Education
- Environmental Studies
- Health Sciences
- Humanities & Arts
- Law & Legal Studies
- Media & Communications
- Public Affairs & Policy
- STEM
- Social Sciences
- and more!
- Mini-Workshops featuring career readiness coaches, who will demystify the application process, writing your purpose statement, and provide tips for maximizing your experience at the fair.
Don't miss this chance to expand your horizons and discover the possibilities that await you in the world of higher education!
Register on Handshake today to learn about all the schools coming and get tips and advice for how to make the most of the fair.
For more information, visit the Unviersity Career Center in Tykeson-Garden Level to learn more about how the UCC supports students applying to grad school through career coaching and document reviews!
School of Planning, Public Policy and Management
April 2026
5:00 p.m.
What is Research? (2026) will explore various natures, purposes, and roles of research across disciplines, fields, and areas. The event will consider frameworks of systematic and creative inquiry, including methods, designs, analyses, discoveries, collaborations, dissemination, ethics, integrity, diversity, media/technologies, and information environments.
This year delves into research in its many forms, including searching, critically investigating, and re-examining existing knowledge, as well as emerging functions and procedures in machine intelligence and computation. It will highlight pluralities of research pathways, examining time-honored approaches and new ways of knowing, precedents, issues, and futures. It considers challenges and possibilities that researchers face in today’s rapidly changing world, and ways to promote ethical, inclusive, and impactful research.
The event celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of the Communication and Media Studies Doctoral Program in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon.