Heather Flood, Interim Dean at Woodbury University School of Architecture. Image © Paul Emberger/Courtesy of Woodbury University School of Architecture

Academic leaders have the demanding task of steering and shaping a school's educational culture and pedagogy. Not only are they responsible for overseeing an institution's administrative affairs, but they are also charged with shaping both learning and teaching environments for students and faculty. While prerequisites for a Dean or Department Chair may differ from institution to institution, their goals are to provide a place that will nurture a student's architectural curiosities by providing an environment where they can gain skills and expand their design knowledge. 

For Heather Flood, the path to architecture and academia may not resemble the typical 'academic dean.' Her commitment to education and attitude towards building more robust pathways for students pursuing a career in AEC and design industries sets her apart. 

For Archinect's latest Deans List conversation, I connected with Heather as she embarks on her role as Interim Dean at Woodbury University School of Architecture (Woodbury SoA). 

During our Zoom call, Heather and I discussed her path to architecture and how her interests in design and educational programming have positioned her to become one of architectural academia’s fiercest advocates. “I’m not an architect who teaches. I’m an educator who specializes in architecture,” the seasoned academic quipped.

My conversation with Woodbury's new Interim Dean was different than most interviews I’ve had with academic leaders, however. As someone who comes from an “unconventional” and non-traditional background in architecture, what I appreciated most about Heather’s outlook was her candor and fervor toward the future of what an architectural education could look like.

Her journey to architecture wasn’t “a straight or obvious line” she shared. After receiving her undergraduate degree in political science and living in New York, Heather explained, she worked as a receptionist at a graphic design firm during the day while taking design courses at Parsons School of Design in the evening. “After successfully completing a night class in AutoCAD, I landed a job as a drafter with a firm in Midtown, and that was my introduction to architecture. I worked for MBB Architects where I was able to get a lot of hands-on mentorship. I was picking up redlines while working at the firm, and that’s how I entered into architecture. From a very ‘tradesperson-like’ experience.”

I’m not an architect who teaches. I’m an educator who specializes in architecture.

For Heather, what she enjoyed most about architecture was the working process. Participating in a team of professionals who together translate a vision for the built environment through the management of complex formal, material, and construction systems. She found the labor of architecture was something she could immerse herself in without much effort. “I thought, wow, I could really do this,” she explained. While she enjoyed the craft and diligent work architecture comes with, she shared that if she wanted to pursue this professionally, she would need to further her education. “This led me to apply to graduate schools. Someone I knew at Parsons recommended I look into SCI-Arc, and so I applied. I was living on the East Coast and was eager to make my way back to the West Coast. When I graduated with an M.Arch degree from SCI-Arc, I was 30 years old and didn't feel like I had the luxury of time. The semester after I graduated, I was asked to teach a studio.”

For some, taking a teaching job after graduating from architecture school is a common way to start off a career in this profession. However, Heather wasn’t searching for a teaching job. Yet, her decision to accept a position at SCI-Arc teaching undergraduate studio turned into an eleven-year assignment as a full-time faculty member from 2004 through 2015.

A lot can happen in eleven years, and for Heather, her dive into teaching led her to a life-long calling. “I discovered I have a knack for teaching,” she shared. “I'm good at taking complex ideas and breaking them down into small manageable parts. I really enjoyed the impact I was able to have on students and in turn the impact they had on me.” After years of teaching, Heather explained that her interests as an educator soon expanded into a move toward administration. “I wanted to become a professional administrator. I’m interested in how to laminate information so that it adds to a large body of knowledge that empowers people to have a career. Participating in the transformation of students into professionals who lead fulfilling lives is incredibly rewarding.”

A path to Woodbury

Heather found her way to Woodbury University in 2015 after being invited by Marc Neveu, former Chair of the School of Architecture. She soon became an integral part of Woodbury’s growth. “I was an Associate Professor when I was appointed Assistant Undergraduate Chair, eventually becoming the Undergraduate Chair in 2017, Undergraduate and Graduate Chair in 2019, and finally Interim Dean. The transition from Assistant Chair to Interim Dean took six years. As Chair, I thought about the architecture program as a whole and structuring knowledge. Part of my job was updating the undergraduate program according to professional and disciplinary standards. Remaking and renovating curriculum is incredibly interesting work that is both creative and painstakingly detailed.”

Heather is no stranger to the school's ethos and goals for students. Continuing with the foundational leadership left by former Dean Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter and her illustrious tenure, Heather explained that what delights her about working at Woodbury is their value and emphasis on socioeconomics as an institution. “Woodbury creates pathways for students from diverse backgrounds and with a broad range of professional ambition,” she told me. It was during this part of our conversation that Heather’s goals for the school unfolded. She explained the importance of challenging traditional pathways for students and why pedagogical models should not only be accessible but customizable to fit the interests of developing students.

Education as a tool for social mobility. We need to reach out to people who need that the most. I see so many people with aptitude and no access. Trying to provide those movements of access is something I really value.

What are your thoughts on facilitating architectural education right now?

Education as a tool for social mobility. We need to reach out to people who need that the most. I see so many people with aptitude and no access. Trying to provide those movements of access is something I really value. We work very hard to empower our students to have lifelong careers. I don't like the idea of all-nighters and 'suffering for the craft.' I want there to be joy in architecture education. It's important to establish in students that their time is valuable. When you get a job, you’re much more valuable if you can execute. Finding joy in work facilitates career longevity and success.

We work very hard to empower our students to have lifelong careers. I don't like the idea of all-nighters and 'suffering for the craft.' I want there to be joy in architecture education. It's important to establish in students that their time is valuable.

In your opinion, how has architectural academia changed? How do you hope it continues to change?

I don't have a singular image of what architecture should be, and I don't have an interest in making a school in 'my image.' What I bring to the table and what’s valuable for the profession is to design and implement a structure that embraces individuality while meeting disciplinary standards. An infrastructure for acquiring an education that is meaningful to the individual student and relevant to the profession. I see my job as someone behind the scenes who can manage the academic complex in a way that maximizes the expertise of faculty and supports the students in navigating curricular choices so that they can get a degree meaningful to them and to the profession. Serving as Interim Dean, it is also my job to publicize the Woodbury way of doing things so that prospective students, faculty, and employers know what our distinct values are and what a Woodbury School of Architecture education uniquely provides.

I don't have a singular image of what architecture should be, and I don't have an interest in making a school in 'my image'. What I bring to the table and what’s valuable for the profession is to design and implement a structure that embraces individuality while meeting disciplinary standards.

What excites you about your new role as Interim Dean at Woodbury?

What’s been exciting for me in the transition from Chair of Architecture program in Los Angeles to Interim Dean of the School of Architecture is learning about the two other programs we offer and the three new programs we're launching. As of fall 2022, Woodbury School of Architecture will offer degrees in Architecture, Interior Design, Computer Science Media Arts, Computer Science Design Computation, Construction Management, and Sustainable Practices. All six degrees are STEM-designated, and they all provide specific expertise related to the built environment.

I’m trying to figure out a way to maximize the range of curricular offerings to better serve our students. Any students pursuing a degree in architecture should also be able to pick up expertise in sustainable practices, design computation, or any program the WSOA offers that is of interest to them. The possible combinations are many and will serve to distinguish our graduates upon graduation. I want to meet the professional challenges that anybody starting a career today is encountering. I’m trying to think about us as a school that develops environments with purpose. And to empower the students to self-define within a range what that purpose is.

I want to meet the professional challenges that anybody starting a career today is encountering. I’m trying to think about us as a school that develops environments with purpose. And to empower the students to self-define within a range what that purpose is.

We’re in the process of expanding the degree programs in the School of Architecture and developing a curricular framework that maximizes our widening range of expertise. We want to structure offerings in a way where students have unique academic pathways. The idea is to allow for interdisciplinary specialization that serves the interests of individual students. I think there’s a real capacity for this to happen. It’s my job to establish the infrastructure which facilitates that knowledge. I have this disciplinary obsession, and I believe students need to be able to explore and develop strong practices specific to their background and future goals.

I really believe in this value of an interdisciplinary mindset, and this is something I'm trying to push. I want to foster the most growth and the most empowerment for our students and faculty, and it’s not the most common approach from people in my position. Maybe that’s because this is where I think my strengths lie. I think it's very potent, where students can customize their disciplines. We do have an ethical dimension and responsibility for what we do. To acknowledge crises in the world and question our level of complicity in those crises and troubleshoot those ways of evolving. I believe the broader the range of perspectives we bring to a crisis, the more likely we’ll locate an impactful response.

What does the future look like for the school?

We’re the “malleable school.” I don’t believe in single-mindedness. What we're trying to do is open up new combinations of expertise and in so doing, educate individuals as opposed to cohorts. I'm hoping that what we can do as an institution is tackle big questions. We don't need to invent problems and then educate a body of students with specific knowledge and then ask them to tackle the problems we invented. Problems don’t need invention, instead, it’s our responsibility to present real-world issues, from affordable housing to accessible city design. Uncovering issues and then creating curricular frameworks that empower students to speculate on those things in an intelligent and creative way.

Our goal at Woodbury School of Architecture is to teach people how to work. We ask ourselves, 'How do we deal with DEI? How do we deal with sustainability, etc?' We deal with them squarely. We acknowledge it. We uncover and discover injustice in its many forms. We try to take responsibility for the ways in which we’re complicit and we try to equip students and faculty with the skills and ethical imperative to work on injustice in a creative way.

Academia's future in 2022

Heather's words echoed a sense of determination and tenacity at the end of our call. Something institutions need at the moment. Archinect has seen and followed the challenges facing architectural academia in the last two years. 2021 brought new appointments as well as academic departures. The world of architectural academia is a web of exciting promises and obstacles. As we break through the first quarter of 2022, many educational institutions are preparing to face another academic year in the best way possible.

Schools and students are returning to in-person learning, new faculty hires are in process, and fellowships and scholarship opportunities are ready to be filled. As a result, architectural academia is filled with many new names and fresh faces. In this case, Heather Flood is a name to remember as she aims to take Woodbury University School of Architecture to new heights.

Learn more about Woodbury University School of Architecture and its academic offerings here.