Vini Nathan, dean of the School of Architecture at Philadelphia University, has been named dean of Auburn University’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction, effective July 1.

During her tenure at Philadelphia University from 1997 to the present, Nathan has been involved in a range of curricular, administrative and strategic initiatives, including recruiting faculty, assisting in accreditation efforts, helping to establish study abroad programs in such countries as Denmark and Australia and developing curricula enhancements, such as an artists in residence program and an annual design guest speakers series.  Nathan has taught in architecture and interior design programs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota and New York Institute of Technology as well as at Philadelphia University.

Nathan earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Anna University, India, a master’s degree in interior design from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Ph.D. in architecture from the University of Michigan; she was a practicing architect in New Delhi, India, and more recently worked as an architect for Walker Group/CNI in New York, a full-service architectural design firm. Nathan was part of the team that worked on the Kuala Lumpur City Center, a design venture in conjunction with the noted architect and a former dean of the School of Architecture at Yale, Cesar Pelli.

“Dr. Nathan‘s experience, in the classroom and as a practitioner and administrator, will be a valuable asset not only to the college but also to the entire Auburn University community,” Provost Mary Ellen Mazey said.

Auburn University’s School of Architecture name has changed to the “School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture” in recognition of the growth and strength of the School’s graduate programs in Community Planning and Landscape Architecture.

Prof. Ricard Pié from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya is serving as a Visiting Scholar in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture through the spring summer of 2011. Prof. Pié is a Professor of Urban Planning at the UPC, where he currently teaches urban planning, urban design, and landscape subjects. He was director of the School of Architecture of Vallès and founder and director of the School of Architecture of Málaga. He was member of the team that designed General Plan for the Barcelona Metropolitan Area in 1976 and served as Head of Urban Planning Services and Management for the Barcelona City Council in the urban preparation for the Barcelona Olympics and the later development. Prof. Pié also manages a professional studio focused on architecture and urban planning, especially town and regional planning in tourist and coastal areas. The studio has been awarded several prizes thanks to many of these projects. The last two prizes are the Catalonia Prize for Urbanism (General Plan of Igualada) and the Research Award of the Biennial of Spanish Architecture and Urbanism (Housing Territorial Plan of Catalonia), both in 2011.

In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of its ongoing sponsorship, Alagasco hosted an exhibition of Auburn Architecture student work from the 2010 Alagasco Student Design Competition.  The exhibit opened Friday evening, June 24th at 5:00 PM with a reception at the Alagasco Center for Energy Technology in downtown Birmingham.  The School also plans to celebrate past winners of the Alagasco Student Design Competitions with a special reunion event to be held at the School in October.

The College of Architecture, Design, & Construction is sponsoring Miklos Oroszlany, Fulbright Visiting Student Researcher in Architecture, from Hungary.  Oroszlany studied architecture and landscape architecture at the Budapest University of Technology. His architectural studies also included a one year scholarship at the Federico II University of Naples.  His specialization is architecture and materials, waste management in the field of architecture and research of building materials.

Oroszlany began his Fullbright research on June 1st and will be conducting research and assisting Prof. Sheri Schumacher with Fall Semester third year Architecture / Interior Architecture dual degree studio courses.

Prof. Charlene Le Bleu has been elected National President of Sigma Lambda Alpha, the Landscape Architecture Honor Society.   Prof. Le Bleu will assume office in August 2011 and serve for two years.

Professor Paul Zorr has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Building Technology Educator’s Society.

Prof. Alan Cook has been awarded Emeritus Associate Professor status upon his retirement from the architecture faculty in May. Alan has served on the faculty since 1979 and has taught at all levels of the architecture studio curriculum and in a broad spectrum of required and elective courses. His contributions to the architecture program and the School have been significant and he has touched the lives of countless students over the course of his long and success teaching career.

The School welcomes two new faculty for the fall. Dr. Jay Mittal will join the Community Planning program faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Jay has completed his PhD in Planning from the University of Cincinnati and brings experience as a professional planner in India to the program. Margaret Fletcher will join the Architecture program faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Margaret has a combined 14 years of teaching and practice experience, most recently with Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects in Atlanta.

This fall the School will host seven students from Istanbul Technical University (ITU), led by Dr. Bahadõr Numan of the ITU faculty. The ITU students and faculty will be working with Auburn students led by Prof. Tarik Orgen in the 3rd year architecture studio program and related classes. Auburn and ITU have been collaborating on international study programs since 2008. Under Prof. Orgen’s leadership, fifteen Auburn architecture students spent the spring semester studying at ITU.

David Hinson, Head of the School of Architecture, Planning, & Landscape Architecture has been promoted to the rank of Professor of Architecture.