College dean honored for efforts advancing study abroad program

For championing study abroad programs that transform students’ academic and cultural perspectives, Jorge Vanegas, dean of the Texas A&M College of Architecture, received the Dr. Kenneth L. “Rock” Clinton International Study Abroad Education Programs Award from Texas A&M University-Commerce and an April 20 ceremony.

He was among 25 educators honored at the commerce campus event.

This fall, Vanegas begins a third four-year as dean the college that boasts the highest percentage of study abroad students in the The Texas A&M University System. The college offers programs in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

After a semester in the college’s study abroad venue in the medieval walled city of Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy in 2013, Abbe Emerson, who earned a Bachelor of Environmental Design degree in 2015, echoed the voices of many students who treasured their study abroad experience.

“I grew as a student, a person, and a worldly citizen,” said Emerson, who also took trips to study classical architecture in Rome, Florence and Venice during the semester.

Vanegas has also helped broaden student horizons leading minimesters programs at Texas A&M’s [Soltis Center for Research and Education] (http://soltiscentercostarica.tamu.edu/) in Costa Rica, where he teaches the college’s legendary Design Process class. Open to all majors, the course helps students, spark, explore, discover and develop their creative problem-solving abilities and entrepreneurial spirit, both individually and as part of multidisciplinary teams.

In his scholarly activities, Vanegas focuses on applying creativity, innovation, design and entrepreneurship in multidisciplinary environments, implementing built environment sustainability, and advancing asset delivery and management in architecture, engineering and construction through integrated strategies, tools and methods.

The award's namesake retired in August 2014 as associate vice president for global programs and initiatives and professor of sociology after a 42-year career at A&M Commerce.

Richard Nira
rnira@tamu.edu