FACULTY FOCUS: JOHN PHILLIPS

After graduating from OSU with a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering in 1990 and a Master of Architectural Engineering in 1991, John practiced as a structural engineer for nine years in Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, and Dallas before returning to his alma mater to teach in the fall of 2000. John, along with his wife Jana Phillips, FAIA, have raised three children in Stillwater, two of whom graduated from OSU in 2022, and one who will graduate from OSU in 2024. Jana is also a graduate of the School of Architecture, with dual degrees in Architecture and Architectural Engineering, and is the OSU University Architect. The combination of professionals in the Phillips family led to many a vacation being planned around visiting architectural and engineering marvels, and as John jokingly puts it “We raised our kids right - making sure they understood architecture, engineering, and high-quality design, whether they wanted to or not.”

As a student attending OSU in the late 1980s and early 1990s, John had a tough decision to make upon entering the professional program at the School of Architecture - whether to major in architecture or architectural engineering, as he enjoyed both. Ultimately he decided to continue as he started, and became an Architectural Engineer. John has never questioned this decision, and as a faculty member he is often given the opportunity to interact with students on architectural design projects in studios at all levels of the curriculum. These interactions have allowed John to keep his architectural design skills at the forefront, and are those ‘extra’ moments in his teaching that he thoroughly enjoys.

Over his 23 years of teaching at OSU, John has been the AE instructor in the capstone Comprehensive Studio (newly renamed the Integrative Design Studio). The course, which was awarded the grand prize for the 2004 NCARB Prize for the Creative Integration of Practice and Education in the Academy, has evolved over the years to become team oriented, discipline focused, and includes vital sustainability and energy aspects. It is a course that truly demonstrates the high quality interdisciplinary design education our students are provided in our architecture and architectural engineering programs.

In 2022, John became a national ABET Program Evaluator, where he is tasked with reviewing Architectural Engineering programs to make sure they are properly and consistently meeting requirements to qualify for accreditation. Through this service, he has been able to better understand the accreditation process which in turn has helped to enhance the educational experience of students in the AE programs at OSU. In visiting other AE programs, John has been afforded insight into what a truly unique program we have, with the interdisciplinary aspects of architecture and architectural engineering taught together, an interaction that is commonplace in the profession but uncommon in the academic setting.

A full Professor with many years of experience under his belt, John was recently appointed Interim Head for the School of Architecture, and will begin those responsibilities in July. He looks forward to the challenge and feels well-equipped to work seamlessly with the current faculty and staff to keep the programs on their current successful trajectory until a new Head of the School of Architecture is named.