Richard Graves, associate professor of architecture and research director at the Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR), has received the University of Minnesota’s Innovation Impact Case Award for advancing sustainable building practices. His work helped shape the Minnesota B3 Sustainable Building Guidelines, launched in response to the state’s Next Generation Energy Act to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Today, B3 continues to set the standard for energy efficiency, resilience, and net-zero goals in state-funded buildings.

This summer, College of Design graduate students traded classrooms for temples, gardens, and bustling city streets in Japan. The May term study abroad program offered more than travel – it opened a global lens on architecture, culture, and community, leaving students inspired to carry these lessons into their future design careers.

Award-winning designer and founder of Studio BV, Betsy Vohs brings her human-centered design philosophy, commitment to social impact, and decades of alumni leadership to guide the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. 

Jessica Garcia Fritz, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Minnesota and Citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Inspires Future Indigenous Designers

Assistant Professor of Architecture Dingliang Yang has been named a recipient of the 2025-2027 McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, marking the first time a U of M architecture faculty member has received this prestigious award since its establishment in 1987.

Pig’s Eye Lake at the Mississippi River in St. Paul, a site of historical pollution with significant Indigenous heritage and ecological importance, will serve as a catalyst project of the “Soft-Urban Riverfront: A New Paradigm for Headwater Metropolises” studio. 

This prestigious award goes to one architectural educator, nationally, each year. The last University of Minnesota educator to win it was Ralph Rapson in 1987.

Exciting transformations have taken place at the College of Design, as several spaces have been renovated to enhance the student experience. The college recently completed renovations in Rapson Hall Rooms 1 and 253; McNeal Hall Suite 32, 12, and 18; and 1425 University Ave. Rooms 75 and 175. All of the renovations have resulted in refreshed and reimagined areas that cater to the needs of students from across design programs.

The College of Design is pleased to announce that 12 of its individuals and teams received funding from the University’s 2023 Imagine Fund. These grants support innovative research in the arts, humanities, and design fields. Design faculty and researchers will use the funds for historical investigation and analysis, community-based design, and experimental technology applications.

University of Minnesota students are hungry for interdisciplinary learning experiences that reflect contemporary design practice and tackle the complexity of design in the era of climate change. This was reflected in the unprecedented outpouring of interest in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. Hosted at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), the decathlon invites college students from around the world to design high-performance net-zero energy buildings that simultaneously promote environmental sustainability and social equity.