Noted architect, landscape architect, and Syracuse University professor Julia Czerniak has been named dean of the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning following a competitive search to find the next design education leader for the SUNY flagship campus.

Czerniak will take office effective September 11th and comes to campus with extensive experience both in academia and the development of communities like Buffalo that are working to come out of the long shadow of deindustrialization.

Czerniak has been on faculty at Syracuse since 1995 and served as the associate dean of the School of Architecture between 2014 and 2022. The Penn State, Princeton, and Glasgow School of Art alumna is also the founding creative director at CLEAR, a unique interdisciplinary design practice focused on developing urban landscapes in cities in the Rust Belt region. Her work there and at other ventures has led to a 2024 residency at the American Academy in Rome and the J.B. Jackson Book Prize from the Foundation for Landscape Studies. 

Czerniak is credited with authoring or editing more than 30 publications and has participated in more than 50 conferences, panels, and events globally, according to a university announcement. 

“During the search, Professor Czerniak stood out because of her vision for the school, substantial administrative experience, impressive research and practice record, and commitment to student and faculty success,” UB Provost A. Scott Weber said in a statement. “Under her leadership, I am confident that the School of Architecture and Planning will continue to build its reputation and strength while enhancing its impact on the region and urban contexts around the world.”

“I am thrilled to join the University at Buffalo as dean of the School of Architecture and Planning and look forward to working with university leadership and the school community to advance its legacy of critical thinking, creative making, and engaged learning,” Czerniak said finally. “It’s very exciting to imagine the rich possibilities the school’s multidisciplinary environment offers to shape fresh and innovative ideas and actions, as we collectively envision and create a culturally rich, diverse, and low-carbon planet.”

Czerniak replaces Robert G. Shibley, who has served successfully in the office since 2011.