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Photos by Shawnya Meyers
Gabriel Díaz Montemayor, left, is the new vice dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, and Jennifer Webb is the new vice dean of the faculty for graduate programs.
Two faculty members of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design were appointed to newly created assistant dean positions effective July 1.
Peter MacKeith, Dean, and Ethel Goodstein-Murphree, Assistant Dean, took this step to provide additional focus and resources to two areas that are critical to the school’s growth and future development: graduate programs and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Gabriel Díaz Montemayor, ASLA, is Deputy Dean of the School for Diversity, Justice and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture. Jennifer Webb is the assistant dean of the school’s graduate programs and an associate professor of interior design.
“In line with our growth in student and faculty enrollment, and growth in academic programs and community engagement, Fay Jones School is expanding its academic leadership team with these significant appointments of Professors Webb and Díaz Montemayor as vice deans,” said Peter MacKeith , Dean of the school. “Professor Webb has taken our graduate program initiative almost from day one to its current productive dynamic, demonstrating admirable administrative qualities of insight, vision, and diplomacy. Professor Diaz Montemayor came as the national leader of diversity and inclusion initiatives in the design disciplines, and the School benefits from his strong commitment and skillful collaboration skills in this important work. “
Díaz Montemayor joined the faculty in the fall semester of 2019. Previously, he was a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin, Arizona State University at Tempe, and the Superior Institute for Architecture and Design of Chihuahua (ISAD). He received the 2019 Excellence in Design Studio Teaching Award, Junior Level, from the National Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.
He is a founding partner of the LABOR (Landscape, Architecture, Border) Studio based in Chihuahua City, where he has been practicing since 2002. The office’s work is featured by a wide range of scales in private and public contracts, mostly in the state, from Chihuahua, Mexico.
He has been a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) since 2008 and participated in the organization’s Diversity Summits in 2018 and 2019, Title of the Autonomous University of Chihuahua State. In 2007 he received a Master of Landscape Architecture from Auburn University in Alabama.
Díaz Montemayor’s research focuses on the further development of landscape architecture with a socio-ecological basis in Latin America and in the border region between the USA and Mexico. As part of this, he researched and wrote about urban eco-tones as a model for resilient communities and hybrid city-nature structures.
Díaz Montemayor not only designed and built buildings and landscapes, but also carried out master plans for parks and path networks as well as mixed-use and residential developments. He also served as a consultant for USAID on a public space restoration project in cities in northern Mexico. His professional and academic work has been published in Arquine Magazine, Sustainability, Journal of Urbanism, AULA Journal and Landscape Architecture Magazine, among others.
As Deputy Dean for Diversity, Equal Opportunities and Inclusion, Díaz Montemayor focuses on contributing to the ongoing transformation of school culture into a culture in which everyone – lecturers, staff, students – belongs. This includes support in the recruitment and retention of students, lecturers and employees of different origins; Supporting student, staff and faculty initiatives on DEI; Organization of training courses on DEI matters; Organization of lectures, panels, workshops and publications with a DEI focus; Contribute to transforming curriculum content into a diverse and inclusive model; Supporting scholarship applications with a focus on supporting minority applications; and the planning and design of the school’s DEI goals, strategies and methods for short, medium and long term implementation.
Webb joined the University of Arkansas Department of Interior Design in 1999. She is also a registered interior designer.
She has a PhD in environmental design and has passed both the NCIDQ and LEED AP exams. Webb has taught a variety of courses in interior design, including commercial, healthcare and hospitality design studios, as well as courses that examine the behavior and inclusion of different people in the built world.
During her tenure at the university, Webb had an active research agenda focused on personal-environment fit. In collaboration with colleagues in two institutions, she examined the role of privacy in residential environments for older adults and the subsequent adaptation in assisted living environments. She has also explored proxemic patterns for older adults in independent and assisted living settings.
Webb initiated research into the probable living conditions of Arkansas residents, and that research provided the pilot data for the Arkansas Health and Housing Survey (2006). This project has provided extensive data regarding Arkansans’ opinions on age, health, home and community design, and current and expected patterns.
She was awarded the Joel Polsky Prize for contributions to the interior design profession for her work on Just Below the Line: Disability, Housing, and Equity in the South (University of Arkansas Press, 2010). She also contributed to the Universal Design Handbook (2010).
Webb is invested in the grant for interior design and related architectural professions. She served on the Journal of Interior Design’s board of directors for six years, with an additional four-year term as chairman of the board of directors. She also served as the national board member of the Interior Design Educators Council, where she coordinated the efforts of the conference peer review process, Journal of Interior Design, creative grant competition, task forces, and publication integrity. In 2019, the Interior Design Training Council awarded her the status of a Fellow.
Webb’s experience as a PhD student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Oklahoma State University sparked her interest in graduate education. At both universities, she received mentoring that changed her understanding of graduate education and her role in developing the knowledge base for transformative design processes and solutions.
As the Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs, Webb works to develop effective recruiting practices that include strong web presence, social media, and in-person events. She advises all PhD students and works to identify culminating residency experiences for each student that contribute to and inform each student’s unique career goals. She also oversees curriculum development at each of the concentrations and works with school management and stakeholders.
The Fay Jones School offers a Master of Design Studies with current emphases in resilience design, integrated wood design, and retail and restaurant design. Further major areas of study are being developed in the areas of monument protection, housing construction, and health and wellness design.
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