Cynthia Jara was educated at Carleton College, where she received a B.A. in history, and at Columbia University with both a M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching and a M.Arch. She is a Licensed Architect in New York State and has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Her scholarly work focuses on the relationship between principles of theory and the design process. A program that she wrote for first year design was recently selected for inclusion in Architectural Course Outlines and Reading Lists 3 (North Carolina State University, 1993). Her published scholarly work includes "Adolf Loos's Raumplan Theory" (Journal of Architectural Education 48:3, 185-201). She has also written about the American architect Grosvenor Atterbury (1869-1956) and the design of Forest Hills Gardens in Queens, New York. Professor Jara teaches in the area of design and design theory.