Harvard University's Graduate School of Design has appointed Mark Lee as Chair of the Department of Architecture, effective July 1, 2018. Lee has taught at the school since 2013 and was recently named Professor in Practice of Architecture, also going into effect July 1, 2018. He will be succeeding K. Michael Hays, who has served as Interim Chair of the Department since 2016.

“I am honored to be entrusted with the chairmanship of the Department of Architecture at the GSD,” Lee says. “In advancing both the discipline and the profession of architecture, the Department has been without parallel; I look forward to building upon the formidable achievements of my predecessors and this deeply-rooted tradition of excellence. We stand on the threshold of a very challenging, but exciting, future. I feel confident that architecture’s best days lie ahead.”

Lee is a principal and founding partner of the Los Angeles-based Johnston Marklee, an internationally recognized firm with over 30 major awards for their numerous residential, commercial, institutional, and exhibition projects. Along with his partner Sharon Johnston, Lee also headed up the second edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial last year.

“I am delighted that Mark Lee has agreed to serve as the next Chair of the Department of Architecture,” says Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design at Harvard GSD. “Johnston Marklee is one of the most talented practices currently working in the United States and beyond, and Mark deeply understands the contemporary world of architecture. His vision and leadership will enormously benefit our students and our School in the years to come. As we welcome Mark to this role, I am also incredibly grateful to Michael Hays for his unwavering and ongoing dedication to the Department of Architecture and the GSD.”