Dean's Journal

Three activities consumed much of my "dog days" of August--Envision Central Texas, the city's bond advisory committee, and the Dallas Urban Laboratory. In addition, I was invited to be a guest artist for an Austin Public Library silent auction fund-raiser called "Texas Tales: Pull Up a Chair and Sit a Spell." This involved painting a wooden library chair to be auctioned in September. My garage was converted into a studio for the past two weeks. For more information on this fund-raiser, visit the Austin Public Library website at http://www.austinlibrary.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6833.

The main focus of my Envision Central Texas activities has been State Highway 130. With transportation consultant John Langmore and others, we have organized a task force to address the planning and design of this highway corridor to the east of Austin. As treasurer of Envision Central Texas, I also sit on its executive committee. Associate Dean Kent Butler, Associate Professor Steven Moore, and I are exploring ways to strengthen ties between our Center for Sustainable Development and Envision Central Texas.

Austin Mayor Will Wynn appointed me to the city's bond advisory committee. I serve on the open space subcommittee. We are identifying optimal areas for open space and estimating the costs to secure those lands. In addition, I am a member of the Hill Country Conservancy Board of Directors. The conservancy seeks to augment lands purchased by the city with additional open space areas.

Associate Professor Dean Almy, Assistant Dean Kris Vetter, and I continue to work on developing the Dallas Urban Laboratory. To reinforce this effort, we are planning our annual "Future of the Texas City-Region" symposium to be in Dallas next spring. We are receiving strong support in Dallas for both the urban laboratory and the symposium. Also in Dallas, I continue to work with the site/landscape design committee for the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts.

On August 8, I gave a presentation to the Transportation Research Board's Committee on Landscape and Environmental Design. The committee held their annual meeting in Austin. "Context sensitive design" is a significant research emphasis of this committee.

On August 12, I participated in the review of Lecturer Jason Kentner's summer landscape architecture studio. In addition to new landscape architecture students, the studio also attracted students from architecture, urban design, and geography who wanted to learn more about landscape architecture.

We co-sponsored the fourth annual Conservation Development Symposium with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center on August 19. The symposium attracted a good mix of architects, developers, local officials, and environmentalists. The Wildflower Center has produced a draft, "Conservation Development in Texas: A Primer for Government Officials, Developers, and Land Planners," that is available for review and comment. For more information, contact Lecturer Dr. Steve Windhager, director of Landscape Restoration for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, at stevew@wildflower.org.

I have been appointed to the board of the Heritage Society of Austin. On August 25, Advisory Council member Kent Collins [B.Arch. '81] led an orientation session for new board meeting.

We held our annual School retreat at the Westcave Preserve on Friday, August 26. Introductions included new tenure-track faculty Ulrich Dangel and Jason Sowell, new Center for Sustainable Development staff Mark Gipson and Mike Mastrangelo, and several others. Mark and Mike will help the Center for Sustainable Development expand its funded research and assist faculty with managing research projects.

The morning of the retreat focused on research and our two centers. Kent Butler and Steven Moore reviewed the activities of the Center for Sustainable Development while Professor Michael Benedikt and Associate Dean Kevin Alter highlighted the accomplishments of the Center for American Architecture and Design. Dayton Hudson Chair of Urban Design Ann Forsyth, director of the Metropolitan Design Center, University of Minnesota, gave a terrific presentation about the various roles of centers at a research university. One of the key ideas she introduced was that "evidence-based practice" can play a significant role in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and planning.

We devoted the afternoon of the retreat to the culture of learning, paying particular attention to the National Architecture Accreditation Board's (NAAB) new studio culture requirements. Dr. Laura Ebady, a psychologist with UT-Austin's Counseling, Learning, and Career Services, presented ways for us to handle students under stress and in crisis. After a spirited discussion with Dr. Ebady, we broke out by discipline to discuss how our architecture and planning programs can enhance our cultures of learning.

On Monday, August 29, I participated in the University Leadership Council Retreat at the Pickle Research Center. President Larry Faulkner discussed legislative challenges as they relate to the University's budget, implementation of the Commission of 125's recommendations, and the transition that will occur in the coming year with the University's leadership. He presented four overarching questions facing the University, which include:

• How do we best select students who can make the most of a UT education and experience?
• How can we better prepare students for leadership in Texas and beyond?
• How can we rebuild a stable financial model?
• How can an Austin academic medical center be created with maximum advantage and minimum damage to UT?

We also discussed progress on Commission of 125 recommendations, specifically in the areas of a core undergraduate curriculum and of strengthening program leadership. Both areas continue to be addressed in the context of creating a sustained culture of excellence.

On Tuesday, August 30, we welcomed students back to campus for the new academic year. In my state-of-the-School remarks, I highlighted the amazing employment rate of our graduates (over 95% with jobs within 60 days of graduation), our outstanding entering classes of graduate and undergraduate students (our entering freshman still have the highest SAT scores on campus, an over-1380 average), our fabulous fall lecture series, stimulating exhibits and publications, and new endowments for scholarship. I reviewed progress that Professor Michael Garrison and his Solar Decathlon team are making. I noted the challenges we face, especially in the areas of salaries and new technologies. Differential tuition and new fees are two ways to address these challenges. I discussed our forthcoming NAAB review and our proposal for a Master of Interior Design degree.

In my talk, I also addressed studio culture and the need to learn how to handle failure in studios. Design requires experimentation and risk-taking. We do not know the "right" answer when we begin the design process. We can learn much from precedent and need to learn to work within environmental and policy constraints, but creativity involves the exploration of new frontiers.

Yesterday, we began classes for the new year. For our new students, their journeys of exploration have just begun. For continuing students and the faculty, our quest remains a work in progress.

—Fritz Steiner

SNAP House Celebrations

Ribbon Cutting & Mayoral Proclamation
September 6, 10 a.m. to noon

Open House
September 9, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Two years...70 UT interdisciplinary students...160 sponsors...a community come together! Come help the UT SolarD Team celebrate the completion of the SNAP House and wish us well as we rally for the quickly approaching competition in Washington D.C.

On Tuesday, September 6, at 10 a.m., Dean Fritz Steiner and City of Austin Mayor Will Wynn will declare "SolarD Day" at the build site at 2006 Leona. Bring a pair of scissors if you would like to join us in the official ribbon cutting ceremony.

Then, the festivities continue Friday, September 9, from 5-8 p.m. as UT SolarD Team members give tours of the SNAP House. So come after work or dinner to see the house before it heads to D.C. and maybe win a doorprize! Visit the UT SolarD website for more information about the project at http://www.utsolard.org, or http://www.ar.utexas.edu/utsolard/ getinvolved_visit.html for a map to the site where both events will be held. Questions? Contact Rachel Carson at rcarson@mail.utexas.edu.

Events