Graduate Faculty Committee Doc. No. 1016A Approved April 28, 2008

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1 Graduate Faculty Committee Doc. No. 1016A Approved April 28, 2008 TWO-YEAR FOLLOW-UP REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON GRADUATE PROGRAM REVIEWS FOR THE REVIEW OF THE MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM (Site Visit: April 3-5, 2005) The original report, GFC Document No. 1016, was approved January 23, Response to Recommendations Recommendation 1: School should prepare a clear and succinct strategic plan outlining its mission. Program Response: The SARUP Strategic Plan was completed, approved and published in Spring, I have written a draft Department of Architecture Strategic Plan that is more comprehensive and goal-oriented. It is currently being revised by our Faculty Planning and Coordinating Committee. GPR comments: The School now has a strategic plan in place and the MA program s strategic plan is near completion. Recommendation 2: The department should fully explore the possibilities of interrelating the PhD and the graduate professional program to their mutual advantage. Program Response: Two recent faculty hires were made because their research and teaching bridge the interests of the doctoral program and the Master of Architecture Program. Professors Sobti and Sen have been successful in attracting students from both programs. The Ph.D. Program Committee is currently negotiating major revisions to the doctoral program that would add emphases in environmental technology and environmental ecology, to the mix of Environment-Behavior Studies that is the traditional strength of the program. It is also seeking to strengthen and expand work in the area of culture and ethnographic studies. All of these changes will provide a greater synergy with faculty and students in the Master of Architecture degree programs. I have assigned doctoral student Teaching Assistants to work directly with Master of Architecture students in the Pre-Thesis course, which is a required course for Master s program students in preparation for their Master s Project or Thesis semester. We are also discussing ways to combine advanced theory courses for Masters degree and Ph.D. students and a new colloquium for all graduate students in the Department of Architecture. The latter will be devoted to critical inquiry in architecture, the globalization of practice, design as a form of research inquiry, and the distinction between undergraduate and graduate education in a studio-based curriculum. The colloquium will be scheduled early in the curriculum for Master of Architecture and Ph.D. students so that academic and social connections between students can be furthered.

2 Graduate Faculty Committee Doc. No. 1016A p. 2 Approved April 28, 2008 GPR comments: There are several initiatives in place that are resulting in increased contact between students and faculty in the PhD and MA programs. Recommendation 3: School should improve proportionate diversity both in its faculty and student body. Program Response: Attracting and retaining students of color is a problem we share with schools of architecture nationally and with other departments at UWM. It continues to be a serious challenge. In 2007 we added a one-half time administrative position devoted to diversity recruitment and retention. We continue to do all we can in the way of mentoring and recruiting in order to increase diversity. In we hired two new faculty members of Indian heritage, but have also lost one female assistant professor this year. The most promising recent initiative is the establishment of a Charter High School for Urban Planning and Architecture (SUPAR) in the city of Milwaukee. The school is currently in its first year of operation. We anticipate that it will provide our school with: increased service-learning opportunities for our students, and hopefully with an increased market of eligible and motivated students of color interested in our programs. GPR comments: The School has taken this recommendation very seriously and has several strategies in place to try to increase diversity. Recommendations 4 and 5: The faculty should be encouraged to maintain their obligations to scholarship and publication (as for instance in the history theory area) and be encouraged to maintain the school s traditional achievements in sponsored research. Program Response: The Department of Architecture values four kinds of scholarship more or less equally: traditional funded research, scholarly activities, applied design research in the form of service projects, and design research in the form of critical inquiry through design projects and/or significant architectural practice. All of these activities generate new knowledge in our discipline and are necessary to maintain competitive professional degree programs in architecture. The last two years have seen astounding growth productivity, dissemination and recognition of faculty work in design research, particularly in the form of significant architectural practice and in the form of externally funded design studios engaged in creative work. We have also witnessed an increase in academic scholarship in the form of papers and publications for academic journals and conferences. In particular, our junior faculty has been exceptionally productive in the presentation of scholarly papers at conferences worldwide.

3 Graduate Faculty Committee Doc. No. 1016A p. 3 Approved April 28, 2008 We recognize that with regards to larger-scale externally-funded research much more strategic work needs to be done. The Institute for Aging and the Environment continues to maintain a high level of support and productivity. However, external funding for our traditional strength in behaviorally-based empirical research has declined due to the retirement of senior scholars. Recently hired faculty are actively building international reputations that should lead to significant funded research in a short time. On the positive side, new collaborative research efforts, spurred by the RGI program, have been explored with faculty members in Health Sciences, Biology, and Engineering Sustainable architecture and urban design is an area of particular strength in our department and is a growing source for externally-funded research. For example, external support has been given to seed a major two-year program of coursework, research, design and construction for our entry in the International Solar Decathalon Competition held in Washington DC. If successful, this project will be funded at approximately one-half million dollars. We have encouraged faculty entries in the annual RGI exercise which has spurred research initiatives and faculty collaboration. One of the more promising avenues has been a series of collaborative initiatives with Health Sciences. GPR comments: The Department recognizes different types of scholarship that contribute to the field, and there has been significant growth in recent years in some of these areas. More development is needed in the area of external funding, but some faculty have been involved in collaborative projects to acquire funding. Recommendation 6: Undergraduates should also be encouraged to explore possibilities nationally when applying to graduate programs. Program Response: I believe we do this to the fullest extent possible. Individual faculty members consistently advise seniors on the various options open to them for graduate study and on the relative strengths and weaknesses of schools with which they are familiar. In addition, our Advising Office with the help of committed faculty members holds a workshop on applying to graduate school and portfolio design every fall semester. Internet communication is also having a global effect on reducing geographic, economic, social and other perceived barriers to graduate school. The world is getting smaller and the number of our students applying to multiple graduate programs nationwide is increasing rapidly. Concomitantly, we are making a concerted effort to increase the admissions yield to our Master of Architecture programs from other universities. Last year we held our first Graduate Admissions Open House which was very successful in increasing the yield of non- UWM admitted candidates. Our best undergraduate students have been going to top-ranked universities for graduate degrees for many years. The percentage of our students applying to, and being accepted by, the top schools of architecture is increasing. However, we are also committed to retaining top undergraduates who we feel are being lured to graduate programs in the region that are equivalent to, or below ours in quality.

4 Graduate Faculty Committee Doc. No. 1016A p. 4 Approved April 28, 2008 GPR comments: The recommendation does not seem to be in the best interest of the master s Program. The MArch program appears to be making efforts to recruit the best students from UWM and from other institutions. Recommendation 7: The graduate school credit limits should be raised to15 credits/semester. Program Response: This was approved by the university in 2006 and is in place beginning with the entering graduate classes of Fall, GPR comments: Issue resolved in Graduate School. Recommendation 8: The program should clarify the relationship between the graduate and undergraduate course offerings, especially where they overlap. Program Response: This is the subject of ongoing discussions among various faculty curriculum committees. We have made significant progress in maintaining graduate student dominance in all joint 600/800 level studios. This semester, for example, the typical ratio of graduate students to undergraduate seniors in these studios is 3:1. More work is necessary to distinguish graduate work in lecture and seminar courses at the 300 and 500 levels of our curriculum. Additional resources to support adjunct studio instructors and additional TAs for the 300-level core courses are necessary to fully address this problem. GPR comments: Although efforts are being made to distinguish the undergraduate and graduate experience in U/G studio courses, this cannot be fully addressed without increased resources. Recommendation 9: The school s efforts at incorporating non-western architectural history and foreign studies program should be further enhanced. Program Response: We have made significant progress on this issue, so much so that it is now a strength. Two courses in Non-Western Architecture have been added to the curriculum: ARCH 332: Introduction on Non-Western Architecture and ARCH 533: Significant Buildings in Geopolitical Context. The latter course is the signature offering of Professor Manu Sobti who is gaining an international reputation for his research on the hydrological urban form determinants of the cities of the Central Asia. This is groundbreaking and unique work and Professor Sobti s course will be made a required course for the professional degree in architecture. In addition, Non-Western content permeates our curriculum from the central position of cultural studies in our doctoral program to the questions surrounding globalization with

5 Graduate Faculty Committee Doc. No. 1016A p. 5 Approved April 28, 2008 respect to architectural practice. We sponsor an annual study abroad program in Japan concentrating on historic preservation. The Japan program is expected to be expanded to a larger exchange program over the next two years. We have a new study abroad program to India this year led by Professor Sobti which we hope to offer on a regular basis; and we are currently developing a study abroad program to China, and exploring a dual-degree exchange program with a university in Wuhan, China. GPR comments: These areas are now a strength of the program. Recommendation 10: The computer applications and policies should be clarified. Program Response: The confusion regarding our computer program was a function of the transition from requiring student rental of laptops to fixed computer PC workstations in our studios with differential tuition funding to enhance our learning environment. That transition is now complete and the confusion has dissipated. GPR comments: This was a temporary problem that has been resolved. Recommendation 11: A clear source of funds should be identified for visiting lecturers and reviewers. Program Response: While this remains an annual challenge, significant progress has been made in the last two years. As the number of externally-funded studio courses has increased we have instituted a policy of using a set percentage of that revenue to fund lectures and exhibitions. However, it is uncertain whether this can be sustained over time. The long-term answer is an endowed lecture series and Dean Greenstreet is actively engaged in that fundraising effort. GPR comments: While funding is usually procured for several visiting lecturers per year, there is no secured funding source and this makes it difficult to plan ahead. Recommendation 12: TA/RA funds should be enhanced to recruit and retain outstanding students as well as make significant contributions to the School. Program Response: No progress has yet been made on this critical need. We hope that the university will support our efforts at the departmental and school levels to increase external support. GPR comments: Given the large number of students in the MA program, the amount of Teaching Assistantships and Chancellor s Awards is too small and more resources are still needed to support MA students.

6 Graduate Faculty Committee Doc. No. 1016A p. 6 Approved April 28, 2008 Prepared By: Brian Wishne, Chair Date: 12/17/07 (Department Chair or Graduate Representative) revised 1/8/08 Reviewed By: James Moyer and Kathleen Wheatley Date: 3/11/08 (GPR representatives) Overall Recommendation The Master of Architecture Program is an important and successful degree program at UWM. The program has been responsive, where appropriate, to the outside reviewer comments and observations. It is the recommendation of the GPR Subcommittee that the program be continued, with the next regular review to be scheduled during the academic year.