Liz Zarro, a 2015 Product Design Program BFA graduate, wants to develop "products that are more than just products" and use design to improve people's lives. She designed an exoskeletal back support, called Origin, for Portland's wheelchair basketball team. The product reduces athletes' dependence on their hands for core stability and body repositioning. For her honors thesis project, Zarro designed a biomimetric shelving unit that she has titled Pinicola Shelves.

Jack Ryan, associate professor in the UO Department of Art and founding director of the CoreSTUDIO program, has been named a 2015 Hallie Ford Fellow in the Visual Arts. The prestigious award, presented by The Ford Family Foundation, recognized five Oregon visual artists this year for demonstrated excellence of their work and potential for significant advancement in their practices of art. 

A&AA is wrapping up its 100th anniversary this month after a full year of events, exhibitions, and celebrations. The school is now embarking on a capital campaign to imagine the future of art and design education and facilities for the next 100 years. In envisioning the school’s future, the A&AA Building Project Work Group in January issued a request for proposals (RFP) from student teams for a competition to design a transformative learning environment for A&AA. In May, the finalists were announced.

John Park, career instructor in the UO Department of Art’s Digital Arts Program, has been awarded the Thomas F. Herman Award for Excellence in Pedagogy. One of the most prestigious teaching honors at UO, the award recognizes senior faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding achievement and expertise in a particular area of teaching. 

Five of the 11 University of Oregon students awarded Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to fund their summer 2015 study abroad programs are students in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts.

Gilman Scholars receive up to $5,000 to apply toward study abroad costs. The A&AA students are: 
• Halley Anderson — Japan, architecture
• Josie Christensen — Palau, art and anthropology
• Alfredo Gonzalez-Cruz — Italy, architecture
• Zak Johnson — Japan, landscape architecture
• Amanda Oliver — Palau, digital arts and anthropology

For Olivia Asuncion, who was born with a physical disability and has used a wheelchair since age 13, fire drills were always a source of panic and anxiety.

The Lawrence Medal will be presented to Gail Dubrow at the A&AA commencement ceremony on Monday, June 15, at 6 p.m. on the south lawn of the Knight Library (near the School of Music and Dance). Reservations are not required.

Dubrow, PhD, (BArch ’80, BA ’76, MA ’79) is an accomplished scholar, educator, and social historian of the built environment and cultural landscapes.

The UO Trustees, the governing board for the University of Oregon, spent time during their June board meeting in Lawrence Hall to learn about the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, with visits to student reviews, a gallery show, and an overview of A&AA from Interim Dean Brook Muller.

When Gerardo Sandoval was researching conditions at a meatpacking plant in Iowa, he found that many workers came from near where he grew up in Guatemala. In 2008, U.S. immigration officials raided the plant and deported hundreds of undocumented Guatemalans.

Robert Parker and Bethany Steiner—both of the Community Service Center in PPPM—have been funded for new instructional projects in 2015-2016 by The Tom and Carol Williams Council for Undergraduate Education. Their project is intended to engage advanced undergraduate students in experiential learning opportunities previously available only to graduate students. Students will work in small teams on policy and planning issues with local governments and nonprofit university partners.