Message from the Dean
August, 2008
The College of Architecture, Planning and Design has now embarked upon the
2008-09 academic year which promises to be a busy but rewarding one.
Our faculty are working beyond traditional
boundaries and forming teaching teams that cross disciplines and reinforce
interdisciplinary values in our studios and classrooms. An inaugural
interdisciplinary studio has been made possible through the five-year
sponsorship of a major professional office. In addition to its financial
commitment, professionals from the sponsoring firm will be participating in the
teaching of that studio, working with the instructor during the introduction of
the problem, participating in mid-project critiques and jurying final
presentations by student teams. In view of declining state revenues and to
remain competitive in the future, we must find corporate sponsorships to
address our funding needs and strengthen the relationship between the academy
and our profession.
We are now in the second year of involvement in the Kansas City
Design Center.
Seven students, representing each of the professions taught within the college,
work in interdisciplinary teams with each other and with students from the University of Kansas
in this Kansas City
based studio. The studio addresses real Kansas
City urban problems, providing insight to the
community through a set of academic exercises. We hope our funding
organizations will renew their financial commitment to this activity.
Our students and faculty have received national recognition
for their “gifts” to Greensburg,
Kansas. You may recall
that the small, southwest Kansas
community was destroyed by a tornado in May of 2007. Additional information
about these activities may be found elsewhere on this website.
It is with extremely mixed emotions that, after serving for
14 years as dean of the College
of Architecture, Planning
and Design, I announce I have decided to step aside at the end of the 08-09
academic year (August, 2009). I will rejoin the landscape architecture faculty
for a few years before my eventual full retirement. I will especially miss the
almost constant contact I have had with our alumni during this time. As your
dean, I have had the honor of building our endowment to over five times that of
1995. Most of these endowments have funded critically needed scholarships, but we
have also raised monies directed toward the badly needed renovation of Seaton
Hall and Seaton Court.
We have established an endowed chair for each of our departments. Finally, our
rankings have steadily risen. These accomplishments were made possible because
of a great faculty, dedicated staff and loyal alumni. We have partnered to make
K-State the top program nationally, and it is with this final message that I
convey to everyone a big THANK YOU! It’s
been a great ride.
Sincerely,
Dennis L. Law, FASLA
Professor and Dean