The final candidate for the new dean of the College of Design said she would “reach out” and work with other schools in the university to offer students a diverse education.

Christine Theodoropoulos, associate professor and head of the architecture department at the University of Oregon, spoke Monday in the fourth and final open forum the university has held to interview candidates for the new College of Design dean.

Theodoropoulos received her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton University and her master’s degree in architecture from Yale University. She has been with the University of Oregon architecture department since 1997.

Theodoropoulos said she has been involved in several recovery projects after natural disasters, such as the Kobe earthquake of 1994 and the Taiwanese Jiji earthquake of 1999.

“I do my best to reach out to others, and I could bring the ability to facilitate connections to extend this university’s reach,” she said.

Being involved in many recovery projects has given her the ability to work with a large number of different disciplines, including urban planners, earth scientists, social scientists and other architects. Working with a wide array of disciplines is something that Theodoropoulos said she both enjoyed and would want to bring to the College of Design.

“I really enjoy those complex projects that bring together many different people. They broaden our impact, and bring together people you wouldn’t expect,” she said. “A mix of subcultures can be more complicated to manage fairly, but it is much more enriching if you can.”

Theodoropoulos said being a dean is a very difficult balancing act.

“A dean should implement equity without absolute equality and bring standards without standardization,” she said. “There is no one right way to engage in design education.”

Theodoropoulos said temporary budget setbacks can help clarify larger objectives the college should meet.

“Some things that need to be thought about are how can this organization take its existing strength to the next level? Where are the opportunities for Iowa State to be on the cutting edge?” she said.

Theodoropoulos took questions from students and faculty in attendance and answered questions on how she would interact and collaborate with the science and technology schools.

“I see a smaller-size college around much larger-sized ones — the College of Engineering in particular,” she said. “We need to be strategic with collaboration. There are opportunities that might be untapped to share resources with the bigger colleges and cultivate trust.”

Kurt Pelzer, junior in landscape architecture, said that while he thought there were some good points in Theodoropoulos’ presentation, he wasn’t completely dazzled.

“She has an interesting science background, and different perspective is always good,” he said. “I didn’t really hear a lot that was new in comparison to the other candidates interviewed, though.”

Christine Theodoropoulos

1979 – Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Princeton University

1979-1982 – Associate structural engineer with Ralph M. Parsons Company in Pasadena

1985 – Master of architecture degree from Yale University

1990-1997 – Faculty member at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

1992-1997 – Director of the Neutra VDL Research House, Los Angeles

1997 – Joined Oregon faculty

2003-present – Associate professor and head of the architecture department in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon

This was final open forum for the design dean finalists. The other four candidates are:

• Luis Rico-Gutierrez – associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and the David Lewis Director of the Remaking Cities Institute, both associated with Carnegie Mellon University

• Kate Schwennsen – associate dean for the College of Design at Iowa State

• David Edelman – professor of and director for planning at the University of Cincinnati