Shannon Reappointed Dean of Fay Jones School of Architecture

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Jeff Shannon, dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jeff Shannon, dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture since 2000, has been reappointed to another five-year term as dean. Provost Sharon Gaber announced the reappointment following a five-year review of Shannon’s performance, which included input from faculty, staff and students, as well as discussions with Shannon about his vision for the Fay Jones School.

“Jeff Shannon has done an excellent job, lately working under difficult conditions as Vol Walker Hall is renovated,” said Gaber. “But his enthusiasm for the Fay Jones School, his obvious love for its students and faculty, and his vision for its future are inspiring. I’m pleased he agreed to continue in this important leadership role.”

Shannon has devoted most of his career to practicing and teaching architecture in his native Arkansas. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor of architecture from the University of Arkansas and holds a master of architecture in urban design from Rice University. He began his career working in the firm of school alumnus and professor Fay Jones, and later worked at firms in Memphis, Houston, Palm Beach, Fla., and Little Rock. In 1977, he co-founded Polk Shannon Stanley in Little Rock. In 1979, Shannon returned to the U of A to teach architecture.

“I am very grateful that Provost Gaber and Chancellor Gearhart have expressed their confidence in me with this reappointment,” said Shannon. “I look forward to continuing to work with them. 

“As we return to a renovated Vol Walker Hall and the new Anderson Design Center next August, we have a unique opportunity to enhance the excellent education we offer our students. I am particularly excited about all three of our departments being in the same facility which will allow our faculty to create innovative approaches to developing more synergistic collaborative relationships between the three programs and their respective faculties and students.

“The school will continue to build on its current efforts to serve the public through various outreach programs that will be integrated into our curricula, thus inviting our students to understand the importance of public service as future professionals, Shannon added. “I also look forward to generating the additional resources for our faculty, staff and students that will allow them to build on the national respect we have been able to garner over the last several years. In so doing, I am confident that the Fay Jones School can make substantial contributions in the University’s drive for recognition as a top 50 public research institution.”

Shannon has won numerous teaching awards, notably the Master Teaching Award (1993) and Outstanding Teacher Award (1997), both from the school of architecture, and the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Category of Creativity (1992). He was inducted into the University of Arkansas Teaching Academy in 1993.

Shannon was chosen as one of the “25 Most Admired Educators” of 2011 in the November/December 2010 issue of DesignIntelligence, a bi-monthly report of the Design Futures Council.

As dean of the architecture school, he has developed new programs to foster leadership and life skills among students and to enhance diversity within the school. He continues to teach popular courses on the history of urban form and design thinking. He is also the executive editor and founder of the publishing collaboration between the school and the University of Arkansas Press, which began in 2009.

Shannon has published numerous articles in scholarly publications and serves on the boards of the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute.