Dr. Angela M. Person
Education
University of Oklahoma
PhD, Cultural Geography
MA, Museum Studies
BS, Environmental Design, Minor in Geology
About
Dr. Angela M. Person [pronounced Pierce-uhn] serves as Associate Dean for Research and External Engagement at the University of Oklahoma’s Gibbs College of Architecture, where she is also an Associate Professor of Architecture. Her research and teaching explore the intersections of architectural theory, environmental sustainability, cultural heritage, and the socio-political dimensions of architecture. Dr. Person’s collaborative and interdisciplinary work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Graham Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, U.S Department of Commerce, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and others, and featured by major media outlets including NPR, Washington Post, Bloomberg CityLab, Architects’ Newspaper, Architectural Record, Fast Company, and more.
Dr. Person has co-curated several major exhibitions, including Capital Brutalism at the National Building Museum (2024-2025) and Outré West at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center (2024-2025). She has a record of award-winning, peer-reviewed publications. She is first author of the book The Care and Keeping of Cultural Institutions (2014), and co-editor of others including Affective Architectures: More-Than-Representational Geographies of Heritage (2020) and Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture (2020), the latter earning the 2021 Oklahoma Book Award for Design. Her scholarly articles have appeared in journals including the Journal of Architectural Education, where her work with Prof. Deborah Richards on equity and dignity in design won the 2023 JAE Award for Design. She co-edited a special issue of the journal Enquiry, on the theme “Inclusive Design Pedagogies and Practices,” with Dr. Stephanie Pilat and Dr. Carmina Sanchez-del-Valle. She is currently co-editing The International Handbook of Heritage and Affect, with more than 40 international contributions from leading scholars (forthcoming, Routledge), with Dr. Jacqueline Micieli-Voutsinas.
Dr. Person’s teaching was recognized with the 2023 Course Development Prize in Architecture, Climate Change, and Society by the Association for Collegiate Schools of Architecture, with co-instructor, Dr. Stephanie Pilat. She was also awarded the 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Excellence Award from the University of Oklahoma. Her leadership in the Environmental Sustainability Working Group (ESWG) earned her the 2021 University of Oklahoma Environmental Concerns Committee Award for Environmental Stewardship, with co-mentor Dr. Randy Peppler.
Dr. Person, with Dr. Peppler, has guided the ESWG students to numerous awards, including the Phi Kappa Phi Undergraduate Research Day Grand Prize for Brooke Foster’s “Expressions of Place Attachment, Mobility, and Justice related to the Tar Creek Superfund Site,” and multiple honors at the Southwest Division of the Association of American Geographers’ Conference and other venues. Additionally, the student journal Telesis, for which Dr. Person serves as faculty advisor, has twice been awarded the Center for Architecture’s Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals.
In addition to her academic and research achievements, Dr. Person has served on various campus committees. She is a member of the Arts and Humanities Forum Board, the Faculty Honorifics Committee, and the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Faculty Advisory Board. She also serves as an alternate IRB member. Dr. Person has also supported the Center for Faculty Excellence, the First-Year Student Success Committee, and the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Women’s Issues. She is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement, and she served as a founding board member of the OU Carceral Studies Consortium.
Exhibitions and Publications, Select
Exhibitions
Capital Brutalism: Past, Present, and Future of Brutalist Architecture in the Nation’s Capital, National Building Museum, June 2024 – Feb. 2025 (Link). Capital Brutalism is a scholarly exhibition that explores the history, current state, and future of seven polarizing buildings and the WMATA Metro system in Washington, D.C. The exhibition uses archival documents, drawings, construction photographs, architectural models, and contemporary photographs to provide context and shed light on the buildings’ stories. Selected buildings are reimagined by leading architecture firms, including Studio Gang, Brooks + Scarpa, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gensler, and BLDUS, along with students from the School of Architecture at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Co-curated by Angela Person and Ty Cole.
Outré West: The American School of Architecture from Oklahoma to California, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Aug. 2024 – Jan. 2025, (Link). Outré West is a scholarly design exhibition that will be on view at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center, Oklahoma’s premiere contemporary art museum, from August 2023 – January 2024. Co-organized by Architecture faculty Angela Person, Stephanie Pilat, and Marco Piscitelli, Outré West is the first-ever exhibition to consider the broader influence of Goff’s and Greene’s teaching and mentoring on California’s built environment.
Books (Peer-Reviewed)
Micieli-Voutsinas, J. and A. Person, eds. (Forthcoming.) The Routledge International Handbook of Heritage and Affect. Routledge.
Person, A. and T. Cole. 2024. Capital Brutalism: Past, Present and Future of Brutalist Architecture in the Nation’s Capital. National Building Museum. (Link)
Micieli-Voutsinas, J. and A. Person, eds. (2020.) Affective Architectures: More-Than-Representational Geographies of Heritage. Routledge “Critical Studies in Heritage, Emotion and Affect” series. (Link)
Pilat, S., L. Guido, and A. Person, eds. (2020.) The American School of Architecture: Building on the Plains. Norman, OK: The University of Oklahoma Press. 2020. (Link) *Winner of the 2021 Oklahoma Book Award for Design and Finalist for the College Arts Association’s Barr Jr. Book Award
Person, A. and J. Cooper. (2014.) The Care and Keeping of Cultural Institutions: A best practice guidebook for museum facility management. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. (Link) *Winner of the 2015 IFMA “Distinguished Author Award”
Articles and Proceedings (Peer-Reviewed)
Wiley, A., A. Marshall, A. Person (corresponding author) & R. Peppler. 2023. “Collegial or Contentious? Reflections on an Interdisciplinary Panel Discussion about an Oil Pipeline,” Studies in Social Justice. (Link).
Motamedi, S., A. Person. 2023. “Evaluating Emotional and Social Interactions in Museum Liminal Spaces: A Case Study of the National Museum of the Islamic Revolution and Holy Defense of Tehran, Iran,” Social Science Quarterly. (Link)
Pilat, S., A. Person. 2022. “Inclusive Design Studios: Rethinking the Instructor’s Role.” Published in ENQ. (Link).
Richards, D. and A. Person. (Equal authorship.) 2022. “Equity & Dignity by Design: Co-Creating Guidelines for Planned Parenthood Affiliate Health Centers.” Journal of Architectural Education. Published Feb. 28, 2022 online, open-access. (Link) *Awarded the 2023 Journal of Architectural Education (JAE) Award for Design
Johnson, V., K. Klockow-McClain, R. Peppler, A. Person. 2021. “Tornado Climatology and Risk Perception in Central Oklahoma.” Weather, Climate and Society. Published May 6, 2021 online. (Link)
Wade, M., R. Peppler, A. Person (2021). “Community Education and Perceptions of Water Reuse: A Case Study in Norman, Oklahoma.” Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. Published February 19, 2021 online. (Link)
Merkel, S., A. Person, R. Peppler, S. Melcher (2020). “Climate Change Communication: Examining the Social and Cognitive Barriers to Productive Environmental Communication.” Social Science Quarterly. Published July 15, 2020 online. (Link)
Person, A. (2019.) “Reading Pre-Statehood Muskogee: Racial-Political Discourse in American Indian, African American, and White Newspapers, 1905-1907.” Chronicles of Oklahoma, a peer-reviewed journal published by the Oklahoma Historical Society (91) 4. (Link)
Additional Research and Projects, Select
Environmental Behavior Undergraduate Research Lab (envlab.wordpress.com)
Co-director, 2017 – Present | Directing undergraduate research on topics related to environmental behavior, place attachment and risk perception.
The American School of Architecture (link.ou.edu/americanschool)
Research and Planning Committee Co-Organizer, 2016 – | Supporting research, coordination, and funding of exhibitions at 2018 Venice Biennale; OU Libraries (2018-2019) and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art (2020), as well as a scholarly catalogue (OU Press 2020), and development of an archive as part of the University of Oklahoma Western History Collection.
National Conference Organizing
“Schools of Thought: Rethinking Architectural Pedagogy,” National scholarly conference held in Norman, Oklahoma, March 5-7, 2020. Lead conference organizer. (Link)
“Creating_Making Forum,” National scholarly conference held in Norman, Oklahoma, November 5-7, 2014. Lead conference organizer. (Link)
“Creating_Making Forum,” National scholarly conference held in Norman, Oklahoma, November 3-5, 2010. Lead conference organizer. (Link)
Awards, Select
Top Women Leaders of Oklahoma City, Women We Admire. 2024.
Journal of Architectural Education (JAE) Award for Design for the article “Equity & Dignity by Design,” co-authored with Deborah Richards. 2023.
Course Development Prize in Architecture, Climate Change, and Society, awarded by Columbia University’s Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (shared with Stephanie Pilat). 2023.
Division of Architecture Award for Excellence in Research & Creative Activity. 2022.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Excellence Award, OU-Norman Campus, University of Oklahoma Division of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. 2022.
Honorable Mention, Society of Architectural Historians 2022 Exhibition Catalogue Award for Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture (OU Press 2020, co-edited with Luca Guido & Stephanie Pilat). 2022.
University of Oklahoma Award for Excellence in Research, Design, and Creative Expression in the Humanities and the Fine Arts, for the American School Project (2016-2021), with Dr. Stephanie Pilat (project co-lead). 2021.
University of Oklahoma Environmental Concerns Committee Award for Environmental Stewardship, Group Award, for the Environmental Sustainability Working Group (envlab.wordpress.com), with Dr. Randy Peppler (co-advisor). 2021.
Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals, Center for Architecture, AIA New York. 2019. (Faculty Advisor to student journal, Telesis) (Link)
Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) Honorable Mention, 2016-17 Dissertation Award, for “Locating the Agency of Architecture.”