News

Lin Cook was commissioned to design the first Lawrence Medal — a prestigious honor now awarded annually to a distinguished graduate — in 1999. She has produced every medal that has been presented since then.

“Metal is the medium in which I can express myself artistically,” says Cook, BFA metalsmithing and jewelry ’80, who based the design of the medal on a rosette motif from the columns at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA, a building designed by Ellis F. Lawrence.) “With metal you can define an edge, an important element of my design language.

Assistant Professor Jenny Lin shares her skills, research, and expertise with two departments in UO’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts, having been hired fall 2012 for a joint appointment in the departments of Art and the History of Art and Architecture. She is the first such faculty hire.

MCRP student Geoff Ostrove is recipient of the 2013-14 University of Oregon Public Impact Graduate Fellowship from the UO Graduate School. The fellowship is given for student work that has achieved excellence and addresses critical issues facing society. The Graduate School deans' selection committee indicated the research has the "potential to make a significant impact on society."

The University of Oregon’s Community Service Center (CSC) will receive the 2013 Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association’s (OAPA) Special Achievement in Planning Award at the OAPA conference in Portland on May 30.

For 40 years, the CSC has linked the skills, expertise, and innovation of higher education with local planning, economic development, and environmental issues to improve quality of life for Oregon communities and residents.

Two UO interior architecture students won first place prizes in the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Oregon chapter 2013 Student Day awards held May 4 in Portland.

Brianna Bernstein won in the category of furniture/product design for her project “CU/BE.” Haley Hupp won in the category of small commercial for her project “Crafty Wonderland.” Hupp also took honorable mention at the 2012 IIDA Student Day Retail Studio.

Both Bernstein and Hupp will graduate June 2013 with bachelor degrees in interior architecture.

The Sustainable Cities Initiative was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education on May 20. The story shares the UO’s innovative community engagement model with the nation's higher education community. SCI is a cross-disciplinary program at UO involving architecture, landscape architecture, planning, product design, art, law, journalism and business. While the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) pioneered in Oregon, SCI has been training other universities interested in adopting the model and implementing a version of it in their local communities.

The Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management is honoring three individuals with the department’s top awards for 2013. Genevieve (Genny) Nelson is being recognized for Outstanding Service to Oregon. Terry Moore, MA ’77 public affairs, MUP ‘77, is being honored as Distinguished Alumnus. And Jennifer M. Wagner, BS ‘05, is being recognized as Distinguished Recent Alumna.

Two of the four finalists in an international design competition to foster nontoxic building products are University of Oregon students. The competition was open to both professional and student designers. The Red List Design Challenge carries $15,000 in cash prizes. The UO finalists are Zander Eckblad and Yin Yu. Eckblad’s submission proposes a nontoxic, plant-based cellulose nano fiber alternative to traditional fiberglass insulation.

The May 2013 Art News gives a rave review to art instructor Jan Reaves’ recent show at the Laura Russo Gallery in Portland. “Reaves excels in balancing free, energetic gestures with harmonious compositions. In all of her work, there is a satisfying interplay between form and negative space, dynamism and serenity,” Art News reviewer Richard Speer writes.

Click the image below to read the full review.

Deni Ruggeri, UO assistant professor of landscape architecture, has been invited to speak at the final conference “New Medina: from Pilot Towns to Sustainable Cities” in Morocco from June 9-13. The consortium is the culmination of a multiyear project that assembles experts and stakeholders to share planning strategies for the creation of sustainable “new towns” in Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt.