Jason Young has been named the new director of the School of Architecture of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He becomes acting director on August 1.

Young, a researcher specializing in contemporary conditions of American urbanism, brings over twenty years of teaching experience to the College of Architecture and Design. He comes to Knoxville from the University of Michigan, where he was an associate professor in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

“We are very excited by the appointment of Jason Young,” said Scott Poole, dean of the College of Architecture and Design. “He has a strong national reputation, and brings a breadth of experience from one of the top architecture programs in the country.”

In addition to teaching at Michigan, where he was named the Helmet F. Stern Professor by its Institute for Humanities, Young was, in fall 2013, the Howard A. Friedman Visiting Associate Professor of Practice at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior, he taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Schwerpunkt Holz in Murau, Austria, and Catholic University of America.

“I am excited for the opportunity to lead the School of Architecture into the future, taking the strong foundation established by dedicated students, faculty, and administrators as a starting point for advancement,” said Young. “In relationship to the larger context of the university and state, I look forward to making contributions to the intellectual environment at the university and advocating for architecture and design excellence in Tennessee.”

The UT School of Architecture is home to professionally-accredited undergraduate and graduate architecture programs. It is frequently cited as one of the best schools for architecture in the South, achieving national acclaim and research funding for such projects as its Living Light Solar House, Appalachia Project, Green Oak Project, and New Norris House, winner of numerous national awards including the prestigious ‘Top 10 Green Project’ from the American Institute of Architects Committee for the Environment in 2013.

“Director Young comes to our college at an exciting time in its history,” said Poole. “We recently established an unprecedented partnership between industry, research, and academia – the Governor’s Chair in Energy and Urbanism – with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and SOM, one of the largest and most respected design firms in the world. We also are kicking off the new year with $2M in facilities upgrades, including a new fabrication laboratory in the heart of downtown Knoxville.”

As a licensed builder in Michigan, Young is the founder of YARD, a design and build practice with “a nice collection of built work with close attention to detail,” said Young. Before founding YARD, Young was co-founder and partner of WETSU, a design and build practice in Ann Arbor. WETSU received an Honorable Mention in Interior Design Magazine’s Design Review in 2001, was recognized by Wallpaper* magazine as one of twenty-five notable emerging practices worldwide in 2003, and received an Honor Award from Contract Magazine in 2005.

Young earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1990, and Master of Architecture from Rice University in 1992.

To learn more about Director Jason Young and the UT School of Architecture, please visit http://archdesign.utk.edu/.