Professor Mark Gillem, FAIA, is among 14 University of Oregon faculty members chosen as recipients of the 2015-16 Fund for Faculty Excellence Awards. The awards honor tenured UO faculty at the forefront of research and discovery who have demonstrated academic excellence and world-class teaching.
A&AA is saying farewell this month to Frances Bronet who served as Dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts from 2005 until August 2014 when she was appointed Acting Senior Vice President and Provost at the UO.
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.
