Texas Tech University has appointed a familiar name in the culmination of a new dean to lead its 95-year-old College of Architecture. Urs Peter "Upe" Flueckiger is the new dean of the school, continuing in the role he stepped into in an interim capacity starting in the fall of last year. Flueckiger will take office effective on July 1st.

Hailing from Switzerland, Flueckiger has made a name for himself in academia beginning with his tenure as a lecturer at Texas Tech's College of Architecture in 1998. Since then, Flueckiger's academic work with both undergrad and graduate students has garnered multiple teaching awards from the school. He has also seen the successful publications of titles on conceptual artist Donald Judd and sustainability traditions within the cabin typology. 

After earning a certificate in construction design in Switzerland he received a Masters of Architecture degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Flueckiger has also operated his own practice, which focuses on small and modular home designs, after brief stints in David Rockwell's and Mario Botta's offices. 

Texas Tech credited Flueckiger's experience teaching over 100 different design courses, and collaborative design builds with the College of Engineering and College of Art as motivating factors for his selection over the four other finalists for the position. 

"I am humbled and honored to be selected as the next dean of the College of Architecture at Texas Tech," Flueckiger commented at the end of a University announcement. "I look forward to leading the college to the next level and actualizing a more ecologically built environment using innovative technologies while teaching students how to think critically and creatively. I am excited to continue collaborating with faculty, staff and alumni to build a vibrant educational environment where we all can thrive and reach new academic and professional heights."

Flueckiger will begin his role as dean starting July 1, 2022.