Van Den Wymelenberg selected to lead College of Architecture

Photo of Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, the new dean of the College of Architecture.

Courtesy

Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg, an academic leader at the University of Oregon, has been named dean of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's College of Architecture. He will begin the new role Jan. 5, pending approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg has been named the new dean of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Architecture.

Van Den Wymelenberg will officially assume the position Jan. 5, pending approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Katherine Ankerson, executive vice chancellor, made the announcement on Oct. 24.

“I am excited to welcome Kevin to Nebraska,” Ankerson said. “He brings the experience and expertise to lead the college into the future while building on its rich culture and traditions. His entrepreneurial spirit, commitment to innovation, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and interdisciplinary scholarship will complement and amplify the exceptional work of the college’s faculty, staff, and students.

“Not only is Kevin an accomplished educator and leader, he brings an understanding of how the hands-on learning that happens in the studio can inform relevant research that in turn further informs transformative teaching within the classroom.”

Van Den Wymelenberg comes to Nebraska from the University of Oregon, where he is Julie Neupert Stott Chair in Design, associate dean for research at the College of Design, director for the School of Architecture and Environment and professor of architecture.

During the past 20 years, Van Den Wymelenberg has developed diverse and progressive administrative and management responsibilities including 18 years running research labs, centers and institutes including a large team of tenure- and non-tenure related faculty, officers of administration, postdocs and students from multiple academic departments.

He served as interim department head for the Department of Architecture and Interior Architecture during the reorganization of the College of Design and School of Architecture and Environment, of which he is currently director.

He founded and directs the Institute for Health in the Built Environment, directs the Biology and the Built Environment Center and directs the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory in the cities of Portland and Eugene. Prior to Oregon, he was a professor at University of Idaho in Boise where he founded the Integrated Design Lab.

Van Den Wymelenberg’s research and creative practice seeks to facilitate integration among a broad network of researchers and practitioners on issues concerning health, comfort, and sustainability in the human ecosystem to support human, community and planetary health. Since 2004, he has secured more than $40 million in research funding related to indoor environmental quality from organizations such as the United States Economic Development Administration, National Science Foundation, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Department of Energy, United States Department of Agriculture, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Business Oregon, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Nike, Microsoft, Siemens, Thermo Fisher Scientific and several other private companies. He has published three books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles and he has made nearly 300 invited lectures.

“I am honored to lead the College of Architecture at Nebraska,” Van Den Wymelenberg said. “I am incredibly impressed with the culture and community of this diverse and talented group of scholars, thinkers, planners, and makers. I am excited to work closely as a team in service to the college’s mission of ‘creating a resilient, healthy and beautiful world, within a diverse and inclusive culture of rigorous inquiry and innovation, united by the transformative power of planning and design.’”

Guided by the university’s N2025 strategic plan, and with sharp focus on innovation and impact, Van Den Wymelenberg will work with the executive vice chancellor in collaboration to support the mission and vision of College of Architecture’s architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and community and regional planning programs.

Van Den Wymelenberg holds a Bachelor of Science in architectural studies with a minor in art history and a certificate in urban planning from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He received his Master of Architecture and doctorate in built environments from the University of Washington.