The Lawrence Medal will be presented to Gail Dubrow at the A&AA commencement ceremony on Monday, June 15, at 6 p.m. on the south lawn of the Knight Library (near the School of Music and Dance). Reservations are not required.

Dubrow, PhD, (BArch ’80, BA ’76, MA ’79) is an accomplished scholar, educator, and social historian of the built environment and cultural landscapes.

Her career has raised public awareness of the history of American women, ethnic communities of color, LGBT communities, and other underrepresented groups by identifying, documenting, interpreting, and protecting places significant to their heritage.

Dubrow earned a doctorate in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1991. Along with a rewarding career in teaching, she is author of two award-winning books, Restoring Women’s History Through Historic Preservation, and Sento at Sixth and Main: Preserving Landmarks of Japanese American Heritage.

The former won the Antoinette Forrester Downing Award from the Society of Architectural Historians for the best book in historic preservation, and the latter won the Great Places Award from the Environmental Design Research Association. She is currently writing Preserving Cultural Diversity in America and beginning research on a new project, Japonisme Revisited, with fellowship support from the American Council on Learned Societies.

Dubrow’s career as an educator, scholar, and preservationist has been complemented by leadership roles in academic administration. As a faculty member at University of Washington from 1989 to 2005, she founded and directed the Preservation Planning and Design Program, preparing a new generation of architects, landscape architects, and planners to address a wide array of preservation issues in their work, with special attention to vernacular resources. Following four years of service as an associate dean in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at University of Washington, the Offices of the President and Provost sponsored her as a 2003-04 Fellow of the American Council on Education, in preparation for a position in academic administration. 

In 2005 she was recruited by the University of Minnesota to serve as vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, where she led major initiatives to increase the diversity of future faculty members and professionals, support interdisciplinary activity, and advance innovation in doctoral education.

The founder and leader of a group of 10 public and private universities committed to fostering interdisciplinary inquiry, Dubrow is a national expert on institutional policies and practices that support interdisciplinary education and research.

Dubrow’s projects have received support from the American Institute of Architects, American Architectural Foundation, Graham Foundation, and National Trust for Historic Preservation. Her work has been honored with awards from the Society of Architectural Historians and Environmental Design Research Association, among others. She has served on the boards of many key organizations within architectural and planning education, including the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Journal of Architectural Education, Vernacular Architecture Forum, and Society for American City and Regional Planning History.   

Interim Dean Brook Muller will personally present the Lawrence Medal and an accompanying certificate, signed by UO Interim President Scott Coltrane, which states: In honor of your dedication to interdisciplinary education and research, your phenomenal service in advancing higher education, and your commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity that resonates deeply with the ethos of the school.

The Ellis F. Lawrence award, in the form of an inscribed bronze medal and original broadside certificate, is awarded once each year to a distinguished alumnus or alumna from the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts whose professional and personal achievements exemplify the Oregon spirit and reflect the integrity, educational philosophy, and commitment to design and artistic excellence of Ellis F. Lawrence. 

The Lawrence Medal is named in honor of the founder of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts, Ellis F. Lawrence, a Portland architect and educator.