This year a search took place for a new director of SALA and several great candidates were short-listed, giving presentations at the school. It was a really wonderful opportunity to speak to esteemed academics from all over the continent and hear what they have been working on in their practices and at their respective schools.

Leslie Van Duzer will be the new director at UBC this fall and we are all very excited to have her on board! Professor Van Duzer comes to UBC from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis where she served as Director of Undergraduate Studies. She has taught at numerous schools in the United States, Canada and Europe and is currently serving a five-year term as an external examiner for Dalhousie University in Halifax. She completed her graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley and practiced architecture in San Francisco and Vienna prior to her academic career.

An expert in early-modern European architecture, Van Duzer is co-author of four books: Adolf Loos: Works in the Czech Lands; Mies van der Rohe: Krefeld Villas; Rudolf Arnheim: Revealing Vision; and Villa Müller: A Work of Adolf Loos. The two building monographs were awarded the architects’ journal Top Ten Books of the Year award in London. Van Duzer has published extensively in international journals and lectured throughout Europe and North America.

It is very exciting time to be a part of the school as Leslie’s appointment will commence many initiatives including fundraising for a new building and the growth of the school in general.

*biographic information taken from www.sala.ubc.ca