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Office of the Provost, Division of Academic Affairs, University of Maryland

Announcements

Announcing a new Dean for the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

Dawn Jourdan

Dear Senior Leaders,

I am pleased to announce that Dawn Jourdan, Esq., Ph.D., AICP has been named as the new dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. We are thrilled that she will officially assume her new role on August 1, 2021.

Dr. Jourdan will join the University of Maryland from Texas A&M University where she serves as a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning and executive associate dean for the College of Architecture. In that role, she has initiated development programs for current faculty, while broadening the talent pool and increasing the diversity of new faculty. She has also worked to expand the number of interdisciplinary grants available for faculty and works closely with the development teams on new and existing gifts to the College.

A widely published author, Dr. Jourdan co-wrote "Planning for Wicked Problems: A Planner's Guide to Land Use Law," which shows students how the law can be a useful tool when planners devise solutions to planning problems. She has also penned numerous articles published in academic journals and legal reference texts.

Prior to her tenure at Texas A&M, Dr. Jourdan held academic positions at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Florida. In Florida, she filled a joint appointment in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and the Levin College of Law and directed the university's Center for Building Better Communities, which conducts research and advocates for innovation in collaborative planning and citizen participation in public projects. She also held an associate position at Holland & Knight LLP, an international law firm, in its Chicago office.

Before earning a doctorate in urban and regional planning from Florida State University, Dr. Jourdan received a master's degree in urban planning and a juris doctor degree at the University of Kansas in 2000. She also earned a bachelor's degree in theatre arts and urban affairs from Bradley University in Illinois.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Dawn Jourdan for her appointment as dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and welcoming her to the University of Maryland.

I would like to express my gratitude to the search committee led by Dean of the College of Information Studies, Keith Marzullo. The committee excelled in its work to find the best possible candidates for this position.

I would also like to extend a thank you to Interim Dean Donald Linebaugh, who has held the position admirably for nearly three years. Thank you, Don, for your service to the university and leadership to the School.

Sincerely,

Ann G. Wylie
Interim Senior Vice President and Provost
She/Her/Hers