Architect Sarah Whiting has been appointed dean of Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Whiting will become the first female dean of GSD since it was founded in 1936. She will assume the role on 1 July, succeeding Mohsen Mostafavi, who announced his decision to step down last October after 11 years in the role.
Whiting is currently dean of Rice University School of Architecture in Houston, Texas, where her firm WW Architecture is also located.
She said she was "thrilled" with the appointment at the school at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which encompasses architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning.
Whiting credited for transforming Rice architecture school
"It is altogether tantalising to look across the school's three departments, with their individual and collective capacities to shape new horizons within Gund Hall," Whiting said in the statement released by the university. "And it's even more enticing to envision working with the GSD's remarkable faculty, students, staff, and alumni to help imagine and create new futures for the world, not just at Harvard but beyond."
Whiting's appointment follows a successful stint as Rice's dean. Since taking on the role in 2010, she is credited with transforming the curriculum, and establishing innovative new studios and facilities.
Her accomplishments at the Houston school have been recognised by a number of awards, including educator of the year by the publi...