Elizabeth Danze, FAIA, Named to UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers
Professor Elizabeth Danze, FAIA, of The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture has been selected to join The University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, the System’s highest honor for educators. Her induction will take place on Friday, April 6, at a ceremony in Austin.
The UT System established the Academy in 2012 to recognize exceptional educators throughout its academic institutions. Members must be previous recipients of the UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award. The Academy serves as a system-level advisory and advocacy group to foster classroom innovation, promote interdisciplinary educational perspectives and catalyze the sharing of best practices.
Danze is one of three 2018 inductees to the 28-member academy, and the only faculty member from UT Austin to join the Academy this year. Fellow inductees include Dr. K. Jill Fleuriet, associate professor of anthropology and associate dean of the Honors College at UT San Antonio, and Dr. Alex Piquero, Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology and associate dean for graduate programs in the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at UT Dallas. School of Architecture professor Lawrence Speck, FAIA, is also a member of the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers, having been inducted in 2015.
“These extraordinary professors are standouts among their students and peers for their instructional approaches to improving the classroom experience,” said Steve Leslie, Ph.D., UT System’s executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “They will now be part of an elite group of educators that collaborate at the highest level to advance academic excellence across all University of Texas institutions.”
Danze, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is well respected by her students and peers and has served in several leadership roles at the School of Architecture. Most recently, she served as interim dean in 2016-2017. Prior to leading the school as interim dean, she was the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs. She currently holds the Bartlett Cocke Regents Professorship in Architecture.
“Elizabeth Danze embodies the best of The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture—she is visionary and pragmatic, creative and rigorous, intellectual and experimental,” remarked Dean Michelle Addington. “Her passion for Architecture, her wisdom in teaching, and her dedication to the students have left an enduring legacy in a generation of alumni who have passed through our doors, and will be felt for years to come by the students entering our programs.”
Beyond the school, Danze is a principal of the Austin-based firm Danze Blood Architects, where her work integrates practice and theory across disciplines by examining the convergence of sociology and psychology with the tangibles of space and construction.
In addition to this honor, Elizabeth Danze has received numerous other prestigious awards. Among them are the Alpha Rho Chi Gold Medal, Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Distinguished Teaching Professor and the Texas Society of Architects Edward J. Romieniec Award for Outstanding Educational Contributions.
Of this year’s Academy inductees, Beth Brunk-Chavez, president of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers and dean of the Extended University and professor of rhetoric and writing studies at UT El Paso, remarked, “Their dedication to the advancement of teaching is truly worthy of recognition. We look forward to leveraging the talent and expertise they will add to our group so that we may continue to enhance the learning experiences of students across the UT System to ensure they are prepared to succeed in the 21st century.”
More information about The University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers can be found here and in a recent announcement from UT System.