Jennifer Wolch’s Tenure and Achievements

CED celebrates the 50th anniversary of the College of Environmental Design.

CED launches the Summer [IN]stitutes, post-baccalaureate career-discovery programs in architecture, landscape architecture, and sustainable city planning.

Wurster Auditorium is refurbished to include new carpeting, furniture, paint, and upgraded audio-visual technology.

The Arcus Chair in Gender, Sexuality & the Built Environment is established by a $1 million gift from the Arcus Foundation (led by alumnus Jon Stryker). The chair focuses attention on environmental design that respects the difference in gender and sexuality and confronts inequity in city building.

Image: Jon Stryker, benefactor of the Arcus Chair.

The Carmel P. Friesen Chair in Urban Studies is endowed by a $1 million gift from alumni Carmel P. and Howard R. Friesen. The Friesen Chair supports faculty teaching and research on cities and urbanization.

Above: Howard Friesen (left) and Carmel Friesen (second from right) with Dean Wolch and Professor of City & Regional Planning Robert Cervero, the first Friesen chairholder.

The Dean’s Advisory Council is established, comprised of a select group of alumni and friends who care deeply about CED. Council members provide strategic planning advice and serve as ambassadors for the College.

The new Wurster Gallery opens with an exhibit on William Wurster’s Residential Architecture, curated by Professor of Architecture Emeritus Richard Peters and alumni Caitlin Brostrom.

The embARC Summer Design Academy for high school students is created, bringing together high school students from diverse backgrounds to explore architecture, urban design and sustainable city planning.

The Robert J. & Millicent C. Lalanne Chair in Real Estate Development, Architecture and Urbanism is established to provide the broad design perspective, interdisciplinary knowledge, and leadership skills needed to solve emerging urban development challenges.

Deborah Burke becomes inaugural recipient of the Berkeley-Rupp Professorship & Prize. Funded by a bequest from alumna Sigrid Rupp, the Professorship & Prize awards $100,000 biannually to an architect who has made a significant contribution to promoting the advancement of women in architecture, and whose work emphasizes sustainability and community.

The Design Innovation for Sustainable Cities (DISC*) Summer Program for undergraduates begins, an immersive five-week program that explores interdisciplinary and multi-scalar approaches to designing more sustainable urban environments.

CED Career Services Office opens, offering personalized career counseling, an annual CED Career Fair, and a wide variety of professional development workshops on topics such as licensure, internships, professional opportunities, alternative careers, and applying for graduate school.

Sustainable Environmental Design, a new interdisciplinary undergraduate major program, is established and attracts a first-year cohort of 50 students, soon growing to over 100.

The Global Urban Humanities Initiative, funded by major grants from the Mellon Foundation, is launched. A partnership between CED and the Arts & Humanities Division, the Initiative promotes new theoretical paradigms, research methods, and pedagogical approaches to address challenges facing today’s global cities and regions.

A makeshift home constructed on the Albany Bulb, a decommissioned landfill peninsula located on the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. The Bulb was the subject of a Global Urban Humanities oral history and mapping project.

A cross-campus graduate certificate and an undergraduate minor in Geographic Information Science & Technology is established, providing an academic structure for an interdisciplinary exchange of ideas around geospatial science.

The Terner Center for Housing Innovation is founded by the Donald I. Terner Distinguished Professor of Affordable Housing and Urban Policy Carol Galante, former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant Secretary and Federal Housing Commissioner under President Obama. The Center leverages applied research and best practices to inform and advance innovation in the planning, financing, design, and development of the built environment.

CED’s Materials Store opens, establishing a partnership between CED and the Educational Opportunity Program in the Division of Equity & Inclusion (EOP/DEI). The store operates as a service to CED students, offering a variety of building materials needed for classes, studios, and graduate research.

James R. Boyce Affordable Housing Studio program begins, aiming to give students the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams and learn from leading practitioners to design solutions targeting the affordable housing crisis.

All three of CED’s professional graduate programs are ranked #1 among all public university peers.

A cross-campus undergraduate certificate, the Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation, is officially offered to students across the Berkeley campus.

The Global Leadership Executive Education Program begins, a series of custom training courses developed for government and NGO clients worldwide on topics such as affordable housing, sustainable urbanism, and smart cities.

Wurster Auditorium’s sound system is redesigned by alumnus and acoustics faculty Charles Salter (Charles M. Salter Associates), providing a state-of-the-art acoustical experience for the hall’s audiences.

Renovated studio-classrooms 489, 491, and 494 open, along with “Bill’s Beach” – and installation by alumnus Peter Walker (PWA Landscape Architecture) in Wurster’s second-floor lightwell named in honor of alumnus William Calloway (SWA).

CED launches the Master of Real Estate Development + Design, an 11-month, interdisciplinary degree that incorporates finance and innovative design to prepare real estate development professionals to build sustainable, equitable, and prosperous cities.