Greg Donofrio

Associate Dean of Faculty

Associate Professor, Architecture

Director of the Heritage Studies & Public History Program

Affiliate Faculty in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Greg Donofrio is associate dean of faculty at the College of Design. He is also an associate professor of historic preservation and public history in the School of Architecture and is affiliate faculty in the Masters in Urban and Regional Planning program at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. His teaching and research examine how communities find significance in, make use of, and preserve the historic built environment. Donofrio is co-founder and current director of the Heritage Studies and Public History Program. He holds the Fesler–Lampter Chair in Urban and Regional Affairs for 2019-2020 to develop A Public History of 35W. He received a Diversity Achievement Award from the American Collegiate Schools of Architecture in 2016 for the Arthur and Edith Lee House Project exhibition and National Register of Historic Places listing, and the Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State and Local History in 2015 for the same project.

Professor Donofrio also has experience as a preservation practitioner and volunteer. His prior positions include Director of Research at Preservation Design Works (PVN) from 2012 to 2015, Board of Directors for the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota from 2009 to 2014, and Conservation Intern at Jablonski Berkowitz Conservation, Inc. in 1999. From 2000 to 2003, he worked at the New York State Historic Preservation Office where he reviewed New York City building restoration and rehabilitation projects for compliance with state and federal historic preservation laws--everything from subways and ships to tenements and skyscrapers. He also coordinated the federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program for New York City including the exterior restoration of Gordon Bunshaft's Lever House and Louis Sullivan's Bayard-Condict Building, among many others.

At the University of Minnesota, Professor Donofrio serves on the boards of the Institute for Advanced Study and the Friends of the Library.

Credentials

Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning, Cornell University—College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Master of Arts in Historic Preservation Planning, Cornell University—College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

Bachelor of Arts with departmental honors; thesis with distinction (Major: History of Science & Technology; Minor: American History), Vassar College

Selected Scholarship

Publications

  • “Feeding the City,” republication in Vol. IV of Urban Landscape: Critical Concepts in the Built Environment, edited by Anita Berrizbeitia (London: Routledge, 2015), 270-287.
  • “Attacking Distribution: Obsolescence and Efficiency of Food Markets in the Age of Urban Renewal,” Journal of Planning History 13, no. 2 (October 21, 2013): 136-159.
  • Greg Donofrio and Meghan Elliott, “Understanding the ‘World’s Largest’ All Reinforced-Concrete Office Building,” APT Bulletin: Journal of Preservation Technology 44, no. 2-3 (2013): 23-33.
  • “Feeding the City,” republication in “The Best of Gastronomica,” Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture 13, no. 1 (spring 2013): 54-65.
  • “Gender Realignment: The Design and Marketing of Gas Stations for Women,” in The Rise of Marketing and Market Research, edited by Hartmut Berghoff, Philip Scranton, and Uwe Spiekermann (Palgave Macmillan, Nov., 2012).
  • “Preservation by Adaptation: Is it Sustainable?” Change over Time: An International Journal of Conservation and the Built Environment 2, no. 2 (fall 2012): 106-131.
  • “Urban Planning, the Natural Environment, and Public Health,” invited submission with Nancy Wells, Ph.D. (Cornell University), Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, edited by Jerome Nriagu, Elsevier, 2011

Teaching

  • ARCH 5671 Introduction to Historic Preservation
  • ARCH 5609 Development and Implementation of Research
  • ARCH 5676 Economics of Historic Preservation

Selected Honors and Awards

  • Diversity Achievement Award, American Collegiate School of Architecture, 2016, for the Arthur and Edith Lee House Project exhibition and National Register of Historic Places listing.
  • Leadership in History Award, American Association for State and Local History, 2015, for the exhibition “A Right to Establish a Home,” HGA Gallery, Rapson Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Campus, August 22, 2014—January 4, 2015. Role: Curator and author of exhibition content with graduate research assistant Laurel Fritz.
  • Anne de Fort-Menares Award from the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) recognizing “the article that best demonstrates excellence in the application of historical research to preservation practice published in the APT Bulletin”, received for Greg Donofrio and Meghan Elliott, “Understanding the ‘World’s Largest’ All Reinforced-Concrete Office Building,” APT Bulletin: Journal of Preservation Technology 44, no. 2-3 (2013).
  • Heritage Collaborative Grants, University of Minnesota Institute for Advanced Study, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.
  • Residential Fellowship, University of Minnesota Institute for Advanced Study, Spring 2012
  • University of Minnesota Community-Engaged Fellowship for Faculty Development, funded by the US Department of Education, 2010-2011
  • Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship, Massachusetts Historical Society, 2007
  • John W. Reps Award for Superior Academic Achievement, Cornell University, 2000
  • Eloise Ellery Graduate Fellowship, Vassar College, 1998-1999

Greg Donofrio

Greg Donofrio

Specialties & Expertise:

History and Theory of Historic Preservation, Historic Preservation Policy (United States), 20th Century US Urban Planning History, Financial Incentives for Historic Preservation, and Community Engaged Historic Preservation

Contact

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Address
151G Rapson Hall
89 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
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