Faculty Affairs

ENV FACULTY AFFAIRS

In and Out of the Classroom

Assistant Professor Robert Alexander, Department of Architecture, “Response Number Three,” Ink & Clay 43 at the W. Keith & Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery.

ATTHEUNIVERSITYLIBRARY

Stephanie Wagner, a lecturer in the Department of Art, and students in her printmaking class published of a book of monograms. They worked with ENV librarian Kai Smith and Special Collections librarian Katie Richardson to bind the volumes and make the images available online through the University Library. Thinking of taking your BFA in art history to the next level? Smith collaborated with Professor Alison Pearlman to help those researching master’s programs online: the College Art Association’s Directory of Graduate Programs in Art History is available at the University Library.

HONORINGAPIONEER

Richard Willson, an urban and regional planning professor, accepted the Planning Pioneer Award on behalf of the family of the late Professor Emerita Margarita McCoy at the California Chapter of the American Planning Association Annual Conference in Sacramento on Sept. 24. The nomination effort was led by San Gabriel City Manager Steve Preston (’80, bachelor’s in urban and regional planning; ’84, master’s in urban and regional planning). At the same event, Willson received an Honor Award from the Planners Emeritus Network. Willson was in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 12, to aend a conference organized by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning to present a paper titled, “Teaching Outside the Planning Curriculum: An Assessment of Mentoring Practices,” co-authored with economic development consultant Robin Scherr and APA career services manager Bobbie Albrecht. A sought-aer expert in transportation and parking management, Willson has concentrated his recent writing on the role of mentoring in the urban planning profession. He launched the career-planning blog Launching Your Planning Career: A Guide for Idealists (www.planning.org/idealistblog) and published its companion book, “A Guide for the Idealist” (Routledge, 2017).

ONTHEBOARD

Anthony Acock, an assistant art professor, joined the Los Angeles board of the American Institute of Graphic Arts in July. An active member for 14 years, which included stints as a board member in Connecticut and Kansas City, he will serve a two-year term as co- director of the Education Commi ee.

ATTHEKELLOGGGALLERY

The artwork of Assistant Professor Robert Alexander from the Department of Architecture, Professor Emerita Babee Mayor, and former art department chair Diane Divelbess are among 103 pieces on display at the Ink & Clay 43 exhibition at the W. Keith and Janet Kellogg University Art Gallery. The annual national competition invites professional artists to submit printmaking, drawing, ceramic arts, clay sculpture, installations, and mixed-media works that incorporate ink or clay as materials. Alexander’s entry, “Response Number Three,” is an 11-inch by 46inch mixed-media piece. Mayor’s piece, “Hello Northwest-Goodbye Southwest,” is from her Observer Series, which studies “the difficulties—the loneliness and isolation—and beauty if starting a new life, a new state” and inspired by changes she has experienced. Divelbess, who taught in the department from 1963–1990, may be a familiar name to students. An endowed scholarship in her honor was established in 1996 to benefit full-time juniors and seniors studying graphic design and art history. Her ink-and-graphite work, “Formal Thought Revisited IV,” reflect an interest in simplified abstract line, angles, forms and edges.

FULBRIGHTPROJECTINMOROCCO

Professors Lee-Anne Milburn from the department of landscape architecture (center) and Gwen Urey (far le) from the department of urban and regional planning in Morocco with fellow Fulbright Hays educators.

Professor Lee-Anne Milburn, Department of Landscape Architecture, and Professor Gwen Urey, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, joined a team of educators as part of a Fulbright Hays Group Project last summer. The group participated in Arabic language lessons, lectures and discussions that included topics such as Islamic architecture and city planning, and secular and religious governance in the Middle East/North Africa. The five-week program’s goal is to enhance teaching about Moroccan culture and literature, Islam, Arab-Islamic studies and Arabic language. Participating faculty members are expected to integrate the experience into their courses and create a Morocco-focused curricula for their professional portfolios.

ENVFACULTY AFFAIRS

VISITINGFACULTY

Douglas E. Noble (’82, architecture), discipline head for Building Science and director of the Master of Building Science degree program at USC, will teach his Façade Tectonics course in the winter quarter to upper-division students in ENV’s architecture program.

The Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects has honored Noble as Educator of the Year. In 2007, he co-founded the Façade Tectonics Institute, a university-based research and education program that hosts conferences and publishes research. He co-founded CLIPPER Lab at USC in 1991 to support research about computers in architecture and design, pioneering early computer-based design studio experiments with colleague Karen Kensek, with whom he created the “NotLY: Not Licensed Yet,” a support system for individuals preparing for the Architect Registration Exam (ARE) for emerging professionals and academics.

RESIST

Julianna Delgado, a professor of urban and regional planning, is organizing a Southern California Climate Change Summit for Southern California Planning Progress—where she serves as president—in collaboration with the American Planning Association, the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Environmental Professionals. The event, tentatively scheduled for Earth Day on April 22, 2018, supports the region’s “climate mayors” who are among the 366 leaders nationwide pledging to continue upholding the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garce i will lead the summit, which seeks to develop local tools for resisting the current federal administration’s dismantling of sustainability and Environmental Protection Agency’s policies.

Delgado also moderated and spoke at the California Preservation Foundation’s Sept. 14 workshop at San Diego’s Balboa Park. She opened the morning session, and in the aernoon led the session “Best Practices for Accessory Dwelling Units in Historic Districts” with land use/environmental a orney Deborah Rosenthal and urban designer Nore Winter.

SERVICEAWARDS

Cal Poly Pomona honored faculty and staff members who have served the university for 10 years or more at the annual Service Awards Ceremony aer the president’s Fall Convocation. This year’s honorees by department are:

Architecture: Administrative coordinator Roxanna Sanchez (25 years), Professor Irma Ramirez (10 years), Professor Robert Alexander (10 years), Professor Benham Samareh (10 years).

Art: Administrative support assistant Lydia Martinez (10 years).

Landscape Architecture: Administrative coordinator Kristopher Penrose (15 years).

Urban and Regional Planning: Administrative coordinator Laura Fujimoto-Hernandez (30 years), lecturer Abishek Tiwari (10 years).

Dean’s Office: Associate Dean Martin Sancho-Madriz (20 years), senior budget analyst Rebecca Cheng (10 years).

VISITINGSCHOLARS

The College of Environmental Design will host a group of visiting scholars from China during the 2017–2018 academic year. Yanyan Huang from Hubei University of Technology will further her scholarly exploration of low-carbon architecture design. Wenjin (Phoebe) Guo, Feifei (Fay) Chen and Xiaona (Natali) Wang—all from Foshan University in Guangdong province—plan to continue their studies in graphic design and ceramic art in the Department of Art. Meanwhile, Li Peng of South China Normal University will delve into his landscape planning research work at the Department of Landscape Architecture.

Visiting scholars, from le to right: Yanyan Huang, Wenjin (Phoebe) Guo, Feifei (Fay) Chen, Xiaona (Natali) Wang, and Li Peng.

GRAPHICDESIGN FACULTY OPENING

The Department of Art has an opening for a tenure-track assistant professor in the area of graphic design, scheduled to begin teaching undergraduate courses in fall 2018. Minimum qualifications are a master’s in fine arts or a doctorate degree in visual arts, graphic design or related fields from an accredited university completed by June 30, 2018; a minimum of two years’ experience in professional design; university-level teaching experience in design or related fields; and demonstration of the ability to contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, creative and scholarly activities, teaching, advising, and service. The ideal candidate would be able to teach foundational and upper-level courses in 3D design, technical illustration and studio art, and is an expert in using and teaching soware and technologies in the digital 3D environment. To learn more about the position and the application process, visit www.cpp.edu/~faculty-affairs/documents/acadapplication.pdf, or email department administrative coordinator Patricia Martinez at pmartinez@cpp.edu.

INMEMORIAM

Arthur Hacker, Department of Architecture

Arthur Hacker, professor emeritus in the Department of Architecture, died July 2 aer a long illness. He was 74.

Hacker taught at the department from 1978 to 2010, holding key leadership positions during his faculty career. He was chair of the department’s graduate program and served for three years as interim associate dean at the College of Environmental Design. Jared Dudley (‘01, architecture) with Professor

Early in his professorship, Hacker Arthur Hacker. established a reputation as a dynamic force—taking on a heavy teaching load while participating in several department commiees and working on special assignments. In a 1980 memo supporting his reappointment as associate professor, then-department chair and future ENV Dean Marvin Malecha noted: “His work in the department has set a standard for excellence for which he deserves our recognition and appreciation.” Hacker’s passion lay in the study of architectural history and theory, and his lectures reflected his reverence of the old masters. “I loved how he told stories of historical architects like they were his old friends,” says Julie Coleman (’12, architecture), a designer in the Los Angeles office of Minneapolis-based DLR Group. “Class was less of a lecture and more like storytelling over a cup of coffee. He was an inspiring professor with a lasting impact.”

He strived to instill in students an appreciation for the contributions of architecture’s giants, recalls Patrick Sanjongco (’95, architecture), who was enrolled in one of Hacker’s history classes. “He made us memorize 100 historic buildings,” says Sanjongco, a senior architect at Architects Orange. “Names, dates, architect. He also made us draw detailed elevations of the classical orders. Very diligent teacher.” An alumnus of Yale University’s undergraduate and graduate architecture programs, Hacker in 1970 became the first national student chairman in the American Institute of Architects’ inaugural program on environmental issues. He would later serve as the editor of the Journal of Architectural Education.

Hacker’s breadth and depth of knowledge provided valuable contributions to Claremont Heritage. He was an appointed member of Claremont’s Architectural Commission, serving from 1980 to 1988. “The architectural community lost a great one with the passing of Art Hacker,” says Jared Dudley (’01, architecture), another former student who is a senior associate in Newport Beach-based Saunders+Wiant Associates. “His wit and dry sense of humor were second to none. His keen ability to deliver a mountain of information the size of Mt. Everest to thousands of doe-eyed students still leaves me in awe. I’m so glad I got to know him outside of the classroom, as he and his teachings have inspired me to this very day.” Friends and loved ones who wish to honor Hacker’s memory may donate to Claremont Heritage (claremontheritage.org) or the Sierra Club (hp://sierraclub.org).

Remembering a Colleague and Friend

I first met Art Hacker in summer 1996. I had applied for a lecturer position in the architecture department. While my meeting with Art was technically a job interview, it didn’t feel like one. His demeanor was friendly, informal—as though he had already decided to hire me before we’d met. We immediately found shared interest in the writings of cultural geographer J.B. Jackson (whose work he assigned in his American architecture class—and I have continued to assign it to my students). Jackson’s writings encompassed vernacular architecture, popular taste and historic context. Neither Art (nor I) saw these perspectives as a substitute for canonical modernism; instead, they enriched interpretations of the works of Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra, R.M. Schindler and many others. Art’s non-doctrinaire a itude was refreshing, and brave at a time when the specter of postmodern architecture made it easy to dismiss the role of historic precedent in contemporary design. Art was always interested in finding new ways to engage students in architectural history. He revamped his Renaissance to Baroque Architecture class, modeling its organization on the Grand Tour of Europe. His lectures sought to capture the experience of visiting great cities, drawing on his personal knowledge of each place to convey its quality and character. If Art had a favorite period of architecture, it was the Renaissance, especially in Italy. He believed that study of this period could teach our students important lessons about proportion and classicism, as well as urban design. To this end, Art assigned detailed façade models in one of his lecture classes, and based studio courses on contemporary uses of the palazzo. Art set high standards for students, and derived incredible pleasure when they demonstrated their talent through these projects. Outside of school, Art’s life was devoted to his family—his wife, Kathy, and two sons, Andrew and James. He was proud of his sons’ academic and professional success, and was pleased when Kathy began working at the Huntington Library. He was a passionate baseball fan, favoring the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Art had a wry sense of humor; he could deliver a devastating critique of the politics of academia, as well as misdeeds taking place in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. He was a wonderful friend, and I will miss his enjoyment of life.

—Professor Lauren Bricker, Department of Architecture