college culture

June 4 was an evening of celebration as former students, colleagues and friends toasted retiring architecture professor John Only Greer '55. Greer, a former department head, interim dean, executive associate dean and mentor to generations of Aggie architects, retired in May after 49 years on the Aggie faculty.

Some of the architecture world’s leading lights shared their knowledge and experiences in the Spring 2011 Department of Architecture Lecture Series. The six public lectures took place in Preston Geren Auditorium.

Friends, colleagues and former students of three retiring architecture professors, John Only Greer, Roger S. Ulrich and David G. Woodcock, gathered May 10 at the University Club to celebrate the trio's combined 110 years of teaching, research and service at Texas A&M University.

For outstanding teaching and research-based contributions to their respective disciplines, 10 Texas A&M College of Architecture faculty members have earned promotions. “They have empowered and emboldened students through their dedication,” said Lou Tassinary, executive associate dean at the college.

Michael Murphy and Donald Sweeney, two retiring educators from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning who helped mold generations of landscape architects and urban planners during more than 80 years of combined service, were honored at a May 15, 2011 reception.

Texas A&M University at Qatar’s new ceremonial mace, designed by Rodney Hill, professor of architecture, debuted at commencement in Qatar May 5, 2011. “As far as I can tell from the design research I did, this is the most elaborate university mace in the world,” said Hill, who also carved mace's wood.

A favorite of administrators, faculty, students and fellow staffers, Ann Eastwood, an administrative coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs at the Texas A&M College of Architecture, has earned The Association of Former Students’ 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award for Staff.

Elena Manferdini, principal of Atelier Manferdini, which specializes in computer-aided design of exotic forms, visited the college March 20 – 25 as an artist in residence. In a video interview, she discusses the installation she and students designed and erected in the Azimuth coffee shop.

Winning entries in Tau Sigma Delta’s Texas A&M Student Art Competition earned their creators $50 scholarships and were displayed in a Houston gallery April 4-8. The winning pieces and the rest of the submitted work were also exhibited at the college’s Wright Gallery March 26-29.

In a room elaborately adorned with architectural installations created by Meg Jackson's design students, students from Weiling He’s studio donned their own designs, putting on a fashion show for their peers.

Viz-a-GoGo 18, the annual showcase of digital wizardry conjured by students in the Master of Science in Visualization program at Texas A&M University, returned to downtown Bryan last May with screenings of student work, interactive exhibits, demonstrations, and more.