June 12, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Stacia Momburg
805-756-6260; smomburg@calpoly.edu

University of Oregon Administrator Named New Cal Poly Architecture Dean

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Christine Theodoropoulos, head of the Architecture Department at the University of Oregon in Eugene, has been named the new dean of Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Theodoropoulos – who is also a licensed architect and registered professional civil engineer in California – will assume her new post Sept. 1.

“Christine’s blend of academic and professional experience as a teacher, university administrator, architect and civil engineer make her an excellent choice to lead our College of Architecture and Environmental Design," said Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong. “Her career has embraced the kind of multidisciplinary approaches that will enrich our Learn by Doing programs.”

Theodoropoulos has served as head of the Architecture Department in the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts since 2003. This includes management and development of curriculum and research initiatives for more than 650 undergraduate and grad students enrolled in seven degree programs in Eugene and Portland, oversight of a $6.2 million annual budget, and work on fundraising for the department’s programs. She has been a faculty member in the department since 1997.

“Christine understands what it takes to support faculty so that they can excel in the classroom," said Cal Poly Provost Kathleen Enz Finken. “She has been an excellent advocate for interdisciplinary approaches to teaching. She also knows how to integrate new technologies into the curriculum, which is essential for our polytechnic-focused programs. But more than that, Christine has a reputation for inspiring trust and working to build collaboration among work groups.”

Theodoropoulos said, “I’m thrilled to be asked to lead one of the nation’s pre-eminent colleges that prepare students to shape the built environment. Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design stands out not only for the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of its program offerings but also for the sterling reputation of its alumni and faculty. That’s why it attracts such great students."

As an architect and engineer working in the realm of structural design, Theodoropoulos has focused her studies on interactions between structural systems and other aspects of the built environment. Her scholarship has focused on the architect’s role in international earthquake-resistant design and disaster mitigation, environmental implications of structural systems, and the development of teaching materials and methods that advance architects’ understanding of building structures.  Students in her design studios have received national recognition for studio projects, including an emergency tensile shelter for disaster relief, earthquake-resistant construction for shop-houses in Taiwan, steel bridges, and other structures.

Early in her career, Theodoropoulos worked as an associate structural engineer for the Ralph M. Parsons Co., now the Parsons Corporation, a global engineering, construction, and technical and management services firm headquartered in Pasadena, Calif. She also served as a design consultant in the private sector.

Theodoropoulos’ experience also includes teaching architecture at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona from 1990-97. She had shorter stints as an adjunct faculty member or assistant professor at the University of Houston, UCLA, USC and the Southern California Institute of Architecture.

Theodoropoulos earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton University in 1979 and a Master of Architecture from Yale in 1985.

She serves on several national- and state-level boards relating to higher education and the architecture profession. She was the first president of the Building Technology Educators’ Society, created in 2008, and has served several years on the National Architecture Accrediting Board. She has also worked with the American Institute of Architects Oregon State Board, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the American Institute of Architecture Students, among other groups.

At Cal Poly, Theodoropoulos will succeed R. Thomas Jones, who is stepping down as dean of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design after nine years. Jones will return to teaching in Cal Poly’s Architecture Department and will lead the effort to expand the college’s Learn by Doing programs.

# # #